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COVER STORY

PHOTO: VIET TUAN

Interest piqued

Foreign investors have taken note of the positive influence
the pandemic has had on e-commerce in Vietnam.

HONG NHUNG Reports

he surging demand for online shop- to buy groceries online and the substantial readily available and accessible to everyone,
ping during the Covid-19 pandemic potential of Vietnam’s e-commerce market while also enhancing their infrastructure
T has ushered in something of a are seen as factors driving overseas invest- and tech platforms to meet user demand.
“golden age” for e-commerce platforms in ment and attracting many foreign giants In addition to shopping, people have
Vietnam, with user numbers jumping more to bet big on the local e-commerce sector. also looked to e-commerce for social inter-
than 41 per cent in the time since - the action and entertainment in place of in-
highest rate in Southeast Asia - according HEAVY TECH INVESTMENT person interaction, according to Mr. Tran
to the “Vietnam’s Digital Advertising Market As the country continues to fight Covid- Tuan Anh, General Director of Shopee
2021: A Pioneering and Breakthrough 19, large numbers of Vietnamese have Vietnam. It has therefore introduced users
Strategy” report released in June by local turned to online platforms to buy their to a host of improvements to increase
advertising company Adsota and its strate- daily essentials. E-commerce platforms are interaction and provide an entertainment
gic partner SOL Premier. In the context continuing to work closely with partners space. E-commerce is also set to become
of the pandemic, rapidly-increasing demand and suppliers to ensure that essentials are a new social forum that facilitates the -

SEPTEMBER 2021 | VIETNAM ECONOMIC TIMES | 11