Vietnamese businesses not Net-savvy, says official

Vietnamese businesses have yet to learn how to profitably use e-commerce though they realize it would help their businesses grow, a government official said Thursday.

Tran Huu Linh, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s E-commerce and Information Technology Department, said 45 percent of businesses have websites.

But they have yet to develop them as a means to promote their products or services, using them merely as ostentation, he said.

More than 65 percent of the 20 million young Internet users in Vietnam surf the Web to look for information on products before buying, he said, without explaining where he obtained the information from.

Internet users would increase twofold in the next five years, to half of the country’s population, he said.

Thomas Wanhoff, communications director of Vina Consulting, said local businesses should improve their websites and look for new ways to attract consumers.

Minh Quang

thanhnien

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