A full and flourishing online business community was essential to Vietnam ’s economic development, the speakers said.
“ Vietnam needs to be aware of the importance of e-commerce activities,and view a greater use of e-commerce in the context of integration withthe current global economy,” said Nguyen Ngoc Dung of the VietnamE-commerce Association at the seminar on information security in HCMCity .
The country’s e-commerce community is fairly healthy right now, thanksto the legal framework including the e-transaction and the InformationTechnology Law.
Many public services have been launched online to assist domesticbusiness, such as e-customs, electronic tax declaration, and licensingfor establishing representative offices, for business registration andfor investment.
So far, 49 institutions of higher learning teach courses on e-commerce,while associations and centres have been founded to offer advice andtimely support for e-businesses, according to Dung.
“Business that optimise their presence online will find it easier topopularise their brandsand to reach customers all over the world,” hesaid.
Ngo Vi Dong, chairman of the association, said that if Vietnam hadsuccessful e-business community, the country’s image internationallywould improve.
But there were significant challenges and risks to online growth, Dongconceded. Those included loss of information, large-scale SPAM emails,and cyber-attacks for business and competitive reasons.
E-commerce businesses needed prompt solutions to their problems, Dong said.
Phung Hai, head of the Network and System Security Department of theassociation, agreed. The tech and systems suppliers for e-businessesneeded to take information security more seriously and come up withbetter ways to prevent hacker attacks, he said.
E-commerce suppliers must also have the latest technology, easy-to-useproducts, provide good customer service, promote themselves better andbe able to connect to customers, businesses to businesses and customersto businesses, Hai said./.