PROMOTING CROSS-BORDER E-COMMERCE EXPANSION FOR ENTERPRISES

The Digital Trade Leverage

The event clarified the role of digital platforms in supporting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to develop international markets, contributing to the modernization of the national trade ecosystem based on linking state policies, corporate capabilities, and technological infrastructure.

Shopee is recognized as one of the leading e-commerce platforms in Vietnam and the Southeast Asia region, playing an important role in business digitalization. Ms. Lai Viet Anh, Deputy Director of the E-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency (under the Ministry of Industry and Trade), commented: “Shopee has continuously developed, becoming one of the leading e-commerce platforms in Vietnam and the Southeast Asia region, contributing to the strong growth of e-commerce, especially by supporting MSMEs in applying e-commerce, leveraging the platform’s existing technological advantages for business digital transformation, and opening up development opportunities in both domestic and international markets.”

Shopee has collaborated with and contributed to the success of many annual activities initiated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, such as the largest online shopping event in Southeast Asia “ASEAN Online Sale Day”; the Vietnam Online Shopping Day – Online Friday; and training activities guiding sellers on participating in business on the Shopee platform… This has helped small businesses better understand how to apply e-commerce, build online business models, and reach a broader customer base.

The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two parties is considered an important effort to modernize the national digital trade ecosystem. The E-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency and Shopee will coordinate to provide practical solutions in training, technical support, logistics, payments, and digital marketing strategies. This is a model public-private partnership, connecting state policies with corporate technological infrastructure and data to create competitive advantages for Vietnamese MSMEs in regional and international markets.

ASEAN Perspective and Cross-Border Trade Expansion Opportunities

From a regional perspective, Mr. G. Jayakrishnan, Regional Chief Executive for Southeast Asia at Enterprise Singapore, analyzed three prominent trends shaping the Southeast Asian e-commerce market.

First, Southeast Asia is witnessing millions of new consumers entering the online environment each year, thanks to a young population, increasing internet usage, and the proliferation of digital culture. This creates an expanding e-commerce market, with a scale forecasted to reach $330 billion by 2025.

Second, rapid changes in consumer behavior and shopping patterns are occurring. Consumers are shifting strongly towards online shopping, pushing businesses – especially MSMEs – to restructure their market approach, apply technology, and deeply engage in digital supply chains to maintain competitiveness.

Third, the regional e-commerce environment is opening unprecedented cross-border trade opportunities, as logistics, payment, and digital marketing infrastructure become increasingly complete. This not only helps goods cross national borders more easily but also enables small businesses to participate in regional markets similarly to how large enterprises have done previously.

Mr. Jayakrishnan assessed that the cooperation between the E-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency and Shopee is timely, occurring as ASEAN enters an acceleration phase in digital transformation and Vietnam emerges as one of the world’s fastest-growing e-commerce markets.

From the above analysis, it can be seen that the robust development of domestic and regional e-commerce is opening many new opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises. Therefore, the signing of the MoU marks an important cooperative milestone for the E-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency and Shopee Company Limited, realizing policies and guidelines for e-commerce development, while creating positive effects for cross-border e-commerce development.

It is evident that the domestic and regional e-commerce landscape is opening significant opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises to expand their market. This cooperative MoU is seen as the realization of policies and guidelines for e-commerce development, simultaneously generating positive effects for cross-border e-commerce through digital transformation solutions, supporting partner connections, and paving the way for Vietnamese goods and brands to reach far into international markets.