100 Vietnamese firms to be selected to join Amazon network: report

Amazon is cooperating with a Vietnamese agency to select 100 Vietnamese businesses to sell their products on the network of the U.S. e-commerce giant.

Through the Amazon Global Selling program, the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) and Amazon experts will guide the firms on how to complete export-import and customs procedures, and to study the U.S. market.

The selected Vietnamese businesses will also learn how to build online shops on Amazon.com, develop their products and brands, and receive training on e-commerce and selling skills on Amazon, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Friday.

Amazon Global Selling is a program that enables merchants to list and sell their products across the world on Amazon's global marketplaces.

More than 98 percent of Vietnam’s businesses are small and medium-d enterprises (SMEs), according to the General Statistics Office.

In 2018, 60 percent of Vietnam’s SMEs could not access loans from official sources, the World Bank has reported. The lack of capital prevents the SMEs from making appropriate investments to upgrade the quality of products for both domestic consumption and exports.

The Amazon program is a chance for local businesses to reach global consumers.

Previously, Walmart carried out a campaign to seek Vietnamese suppliers, according to the Vietnam News Agency report. This enabled products of Vinamit, Vietnam’s leading maker of fruit chips, to be available at Walmart China, while the country’s famous coffee brand Trung Nguyen is sold at Walmarts in Chile, Brazil, Mexico and China.

Vietnam’s e-commerce has emerged as one of the fastest-growing markets in the world, with value jumping from about $4 billion in 2015 to $5.1 billion and $6.2 billion in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

Revenue from online retail in the Southeast Asian country is forecast to hit $10 billion by 2020, accounting for five percent of the country’s retail market, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

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