Information Note

Development of cross-border
e-commerce among ASEAN
Research Office member countries
Legislative Council Secretariat

IN20/2023

1. Introduction

1.1 Development of e-commerce presents both challenges and opportunities to

the import and export trade (“I&E trade”) in Hong Kong: “trade disintermediation”
of e-commerce, on one hand, diminishes the role of I&E firms as middlemen when
producers sell directly to customers; on the other hand, I&E trade can tap into high
potential markets such as the Mainland and member countries of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (“ASEAN”)1 through cross-border e-commerce platforms.
While the Government has introduced funding schemes and support services to assist
local enterprises in developing and strengthening their e-commerce capability, there
have been suggestions that the Government should formulate a dedicated policy
framework to guide the development of cross-border e-commerce and implement
specific support measures to accelerate its adoption among local enterprises.

1.2 In the past few years, ASEAN member countries have registered rapid
growth in their e-commerce activities. According to the “e-Conomy SEA 2022”
report released by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, e-commerce activities in
six ASEAN member countries more than tripled from US$43 billion
(HK$336.5 billion) in gross merchandise value (“GMV”) in 2019 to US$131 billion
(HK$1,025 billion) in 2022.2 It was estimated that GMV would further increase to
US$211 billion (HK$1,651 billion) in 2025. This can be credited to region-wide
nurturing policies ranging from establishing the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on
Electronic Commerce (to strengthen coordination among its member countries in
their efforts to advance the development and use of e-commerce), to the formulation

1
ASEAN was established in August 1967 with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration by five
founding countries consisting of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Five other Asian countries – Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Cambodia
– subsequently joined ASEAN between 1984 and 1999, making up the current 10-country
membership.
2
“e-Conomy SEA” is a multi-year research programme launched by Google and Temasek in
2016. Bain & Company joined the programme as lead research partner in 2019.
The research programme aims to shed light on six digital economies in ASEAN, namely
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. These six ASEAN
member countries, hereinafter collectively referred as “ASEAN-6”, are on the medium- and
higher-end digital development. See Google, Temasek and Bain & Company (2022).
of a work plan3 to guide regional efforts to enhance member countries’ capabilities
to promote further growth of cross-border e-commerce. Moreover, some ASEAN
member countries have over the years introduced their own specific policy initiatives
and measures to capture the growth opportunities of e-commerce in their economies.

1.3 At the request of Dr Hon Kennedy WONG Ying-ho, the Research Office
has prepared this Information Note which studies the development and adoption of
cross-border e-commerce in Hong Kong and selected ASEAN member countries.
This Note will first review the adoption of cross-border e-commerce among
enterprises in Hong Kong, the launch of support measures and services by the
Government to facilitate the development, and related issues of concern. It will be
followed by an overview of the development of cross-border e-commerce in the
ASEAN region, and the strategies and work plan adopted to promote e-commerce.
The specific policies and/or facilitation measures implemented by Singapore,
Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam to promote the development of e-commerce
(including cross-border transactions) will be studied in detail, in light of (a) their
better preparedness to support e-commerce development as measured by the ASEAN
Digital Integration Index (“ADII”);4 (b) their relatively larger size of e-commerce
market size; 5 and/or (c) comprehensiveness of their policies and measures
implemented to support e-commerce development.

2. Hong Kong

2.1 The I&E trade is a major pillar industry of Hong Kong in terms of its GDP
contribution and job creation. Faced with recent challenges such as escalating
China-United States trade tension, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, global
economic slowdown and the emergence of “trade disintermediation”, the GDP
contribution of the I&E trade sector eased from 17.5% in 2017 to 16.8% in 2021.
Employment in the sector as a percentage of total employment also decreased from
12.7% to 10.2% over the period.

3
The work plan was endorsed by the ASEAN Economic Ministers, which is a ministerial
cooperation mechanism under ASEAN for steering economic integration among the member
countries.
4
ADII measures the digital integration development of individual ASEAN member countries on
six pillars to reflect their preparedness in capturing the new growth opportunities of the ASEAN
digital economy. In 2021, Singapore and Malaysia were on the higher end of scores across the
six pillars. For Indonesia and Vietnam, they were slightly higher or close to the ASEAN
averages on the scores of four of the six pillars. See Appendix 1 for their scores on the six
pillars of their digital integration development.
5
According to the “e-Conomy SEA 2022” report, Indonesia’s e-commerce market as measured
by GMV was the largest among the ASEAN-6 at US$59 billion (HK$461.7 billion) in 2022.
Vietnam and Malaysia both recorded GMV of US$14 billion (HK$109.6 billion), followed by
Singapore at US$8.2 billion (HK$64.2 billion). See Google, Temasek and Bain & Company
(2022).

2
2.2 Amid the above challenges, cross border e-commerce provides welcome
opportunities for Hong Kong companies to grow and expand their businesses to new
markets. According to a study by an investment bank6, cross-border transactions
made up 25% of all e-commerce transactions in Hong Kong in 2021. The most
popular places to shop from were the Mainland (37%), the United States (21%), and
Japan (16%). It was not just consumers to transact overseas, Hong Kong’s domestic
e-commerce merchants did so as well. To recover from the pandemic, 48% of them
were looking for alternative ways to sell their products and 45% to reach customers
in new markets.

2.3 Indeed, some local trading companies have been looking for opportunities
to tap into overseas markets with high growth potential like ASEAN through channels
like cross-border e-commerce platforms. ASEAN is a fast-expanding trade bloc
with an average annual GDP growth of 4.1% between 2012 and 2021. ASEAN has
been Hong Kong’s second-largest trading partner after the Mainland since 2010.
Among the ASEAN member countries, Vietnam was the largest export market for
Hong Kong in 2022 (accounting for 31.2% of the total), followed by Singapore
(23.0%), Thailand (16.4%) and Malaysia (12.1%).7

2.4 The Government has put in place funding schemes and support services to
assist local enterprises (including trading companies) to explore and develop new
markets and adopt technologies to improve their sales and marketing operations.
The major funding schemes include:8

(a) the Technology Voucher Programme (“TVP”) launched in

November 2016 to subsidize local enterprises in using technological
services and solutions such as e-commerce platform and logistics
management system to improve productivity and/or transform business
processes so as to enhance their long-term competitiveness;9 and

6
See J.P. Morgan (2021).
7
In terms of total trade value between Hong Kong and ASEAN, Singapore took up a share of
37.2% in 2022 while the corresponding figures for Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia were
19.8%, 11.8% and 17.0% res1pectively. See Hong Kong Trade Development Council (2023a)
and Trade and Industry Department (2023).
8
See GovHK (2023c).
9
Under TVP, eligible local enterprises are provided with funding on a 3 (Government) to
1 (the enterprise concerned) matching basis. The cumulative funding ceiling per enterprise is
HK$600,000.

3
 (b) the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales
(“BUD Fund”) launched in June 2012 to support small-to-medium
enterprises (“SMEs”) to develop business on the Mainland. The
Government extended the geographical coverage of the BUD Fund to
ASEAN in 2018, and other markets with which Hong Kong has signed
Free Trade Agreements and Investment Promotion and Protection
Agreements in 2020 and 2021 respectively.10 The funding scope of
the BUD Fund covers support to enterprises in developing e-commerce
and integrating online and offline modes of sales and marketing.11

2.5 With regard to support services, the Hong Kong Productivity Council has
assisted local SMEs to embark on digital transformation through organizing training
sessions and activities relating to information technology (“IT”) and e-commerce.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (“HKTDC”) has also set up
a cross-boundary store on a Mainland e-commerce platform since April 2022 to help
local SMEs use the “collect products in Hong Kong, settle payment in Hong Kong”
mode to enter the Mainland domestic sales market. HKTDC’s Transformation
Sandbox programme is another support programme that helps SMEs achieve their
upgrading and transformation goals in the areas of e-commerce, access to new
markets and branding.

Issues of concern

2.6 Notwithstanding the above, only 11.3% of establishments surveyed by the

Census and Statistics Department during March-December 2021 had engaged in
e-commerce sales in 2020. 12 Inclination to maintain current business model
(e.g. face-to-face interaction) was considered by the majority of respondents (89.0%)
as the reason for not having received orders online, as against other cited reasons
such as insufficient level of customer demand for e-commerce sales (18.1%); goods
or services not suitable for e-commerce sales (14.3%); high cost of development or
maintenance (4.4%); and lack of skilled employees to develop, maintain or use the
technology required (4.0%).

10
The BUD Fund was launched with an initial injection of HK$1 billion. Since 2018, the
Government has injected a total of HK$5.5 billion into the Fund.
11
As at end-2022, 5 476 applications were approved involving a total funding of HK$3.2 billion.
Among the successful applications, around 13% were from applicants of the I&E trade sector
See GovHK (2023a).
12
See Census and Statistics Department (2022).

4
2.7 In another survey conducted by an e-commerce company in 2022, local
SMEs had been facing a number of challenges when engaged in cross-border
e-commerce.13 These included (a) disruption of transport and logistic services due
to the pandemic (45% of respondents) and the high costs involved (42%);
(b) complexity of regulatory control imposed on cross-border e-commerce activities
(40%); and (c) uncertainty of market demand for their products (39%). Yet, over
80% of the respondents agreed that digital transformation of their businesses and
diversification of sales channels were critical for their future development.
In addition, there were views that the high cost of onboarding existing cross-border
e-commerce platforms was a hurdle for SMEs.

2.8 In light of the above challenges, some stakeholders have called on the
Government to (a) devise a dedicated policy framework and introduce specific
measures to facilitate the development of cross-border e-commerce in Hong Kong;
(b) assist local enterprises to tap into new opportunities brought by the growing digital
economies in the Mainland and ASEAN; and (c) address the issue of affordability of
SMEs to pay for the relatively high cost of onboarding existing cross-border
e-commerce platforms. Some of the specific recommendations being proposed
include: (a) enlisting support from the Government to develop a large-scale
e-commerce platform in Hong Kong that can connect smoothly with relevant places
and offer one-stop services including business matching, cross-border logistics and
transportation arrangement and payment settlement, thereby providing an
infrastructure for promoting the development of digital economy14; (b) setting up a
task force under the Digital Economy Development Committee (“DEDC”) 15 to
advance the development of digital networks and e-commerce platforms for the
e-commerce industry and formulating relevant trade rules governing regional
e-commerce; and (c) providing subsidies to assist local enterprises in digital
transformation, adoption of e-commerce and promotion of their products and
branding on major e-commerce platforms.16

13
See eBay (2022).
14
Such a platform may provide a vital conduit for the Hong Kong enterprises, particularly SMEs,
to develop their cross-border business and achieve upgrading and transformation. It also
facilitates local youth in establishing startups at a lower cost through e-commerce channels.
See 民 建 聯 (2023) and 民 建 聯 等 (2023).
15
The Government set up DEDC in June 2022 to expedite the development process of digital
economy in Hong Kong. DEDC is chaired by the Financial Secretary and comprises industry
experts and scholars as well as relevant government officials as the members of the committee.
Four subgroups have been formed under DEDC to conduct in-depth studies on four major areas,
namely (a) digital transformation of enterprises; (b) cross-boundary data transfer; (c) digital
infrastructure; and (d) human resources.
16
See 民 建 聯 (2023) and 民 建 聯 等 (2023).

5
2.9 According to the Government, it has provided relevant support services and
strived to assist local enterprises in tapping into the Mainland domestic sales market
by taking the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as an entry point to
explore the vast Mainland market and participate in the domestic circulation of the
national economy. With regard to digital transformation of local enterprises and
adoption of e-commerce channels, the Government has been working with the
sub-group on digital transformation established under DEDC to devise feasible
measures to drive digital transformation of local enterprises. The sub-group is
expected to put forward specific recommendations to the Government within 2023.

3. Development of cross-border e-commerce in ASEAN

3.1 ASEAN launched the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015 to further

promote economic integration of the member countries by allowing easier movement
of goods, services, investment, capital and people across the region. Currently,
ASEAN as a whole represents the third largest economy in Asia and the fifth largest
in the world.17 Appendix 2 shows the key indicators of socio-economic profile of
individual ASEAN member countries.

3.2 In recent years, ASEAN member countries have experienced rapid growth
in e-commerce activities especially following the outbreak of the COVID-19
pandemic which has resulted in the shift of many regular business and sales activities
online to minimize physical interactions. As customers have grown more
comfortable with online shopping and the convenience it offers, they continue online
shopping post-pandemic. In addition, ASEAN’s growing middle-class population
is embracing an increasingly digital lifestyle, while its digitally savvy younger
generation is highly familiar with online shopping. 18 These socio-economic
developments are conducive to the expansion of e-commerce activities in ASEAN
member countries. Indicative of this trend, the combined e-commerce GMV of
ASEAN-6 (i.e. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam) more than trebled from US$43 billion (HK$336.5 billion) in 2019 to
US$131 billion (HK$1,025 billion) in 2022.19 Among them, Indonesia is the most
populous country with the largest e-commerce market that reached US$59 billion
(HK$461.7 billion) in GMV in 2022 (Figure 1). It is also second to Vietnam as the
country with the most rapid growth of 61% during the forecast period of 2022 to
2025.

17
See Hong Kong Trade Development Council (2023a) and The ASEAN Secretariat (2022)
18
It is worth noting that the region had a young population with about one-third of its 664 million
people aged below 20 in 2021.
19
See Google, Temasek and Bain & Company (2022).

6
Figure 1 – Gross merchandise value of e-commerce in ASEAN-6

25 +136%
Indonesia 59
95 +61%

3
+367%
Malaysia 14
18 +29%

3
+367%
Philippines 14
22 +57%

2
+310%
Singapore 8 .2
11 +34%

5
+340%
Thailand 22
32 +46%

5 +180%
Vietnam 14
32 +129%
43 +205%
Total 131
211 +61%
US$ billion
0 40 80 120 160 200 240
2019 2022 2025

Source: Google, Temasek and Bain & Company (2022).

3.3 While scanty statistics is available on the cross-border e-commerce

activities in the ASEAN region, payment companies have provided some evidence
that such transactions could be high in some countries in the region.20 The share of
cross-border transactions in e-commerce trade in relatively open economies such as
Singapore and Malaysia stood at 55%-60% and 40% respectively in 2017.

Strategies to promote cross-border e-commerce in ASEAN

3.4 As early as in the late 2000s, ASEAN has recognized the important roles of
e-commerce in promoting domestic and cross-border trade as well as facilitating
foreign investment through the supply of intermediary services. In particular,
e-commerce has significantly lowered barriers to entry and operating costs for
businesses, and is particularly beneficial for SMEs. Nonetheless, regional
integration in e-commerce activities requires efforts to address issues/concerns
such as: (a) aligning regulations and standards related to e-commerce across member
countries; (b) building awareness of and trust/expertise in the e-commerce ecosystem
and value chain among consumers and/or merchants; (c) fragmentation of the
payment infrastructures that limits interoperability and cross-border payments;

20
See ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute (2021).

7
(d) adjustment of the customs and logistic systems to cater for low-value
business-to-consumer (“B2C”) shipments21; and (e) logistic issues relating to delivery
of goods, particularly to remote areas.

3.5 Since the mid-2010s, ASEAN has intensified its efforts to drive
cross-border e-commerce development among its member countries pursuant to the
ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 202522 adopted in 2015. The ASEAN
Coordinating Committee on Electronic Commerce23 was subsequently established in
2016 with the mandate to strengthen coordination among ASEAN member countries
in their efforts to promote the development of e-commerce. In 2021, the ASEAN
Agreement on Electronic Commerce came into force to provide the framework for
implementing measures that enable ASEAN member countries to cooperate in
advancing the development and use of e-commerce in the region.24 Furthermore,
the Work Plan on the Implementation of ASEAN Agreement on Electronic
Commerce (“the Work Plan”), which was released in 2021, laid down the concrete
measures to be taken across the region over a five-year period so as to guide the
member countries in implementing the ASEAN Agreement on Electronic Commerce.
The Work Plan covers areas which include facilitating cross-border e-commerce
transactions, fostering businesses’ engagement in e-commerce distribution channels,
and strengthening consumer confidence and participation in making purchases
through such channels (see Appendix 3 for details of the Work Plan). The ASEAN
Coordinating Committee on Electronic Commerce is tasked to coordinate with
relevant stakeholders to implement the Work Plan. In addition, a set of key
performance indicators have been put forward for tracking the implementation
progress of various initiatives under the Work Plan, and ADII is adopted as one of
the key monitoring tools. A mid-term review of the implementation progress of the
Work Plan will be conducted in 2023.

4. Measures to promote e-commerce development in selected ASEAN

member countries

4.1 Over the past decade or so, individual ASEAN member countries have
introduced specific plans and/or policy measures to strengthen their IT infrastructure
and business and legal systems, in an effort to facilitate their e-commerce

21
The current international customs architecture and logistics framework is largely designed for
the traditional business-to-business (“B2B”) model with large, palletized shipments. See
US-ASEAN Business Council (2021).
22
The Blueprint was adopted by the ASEAN Leaders at the 27th ASEAN Summit in
November 2015 to provide for broad direction and a set of strategic measures between 2016
and 2025 to achieve a more economically integrated and connected region.
23
The committee comprises government officials and representatives from agencies that are
responsible for trade, and local enterprises.
24
See Association of Southeast Asian Nations (2019a).

8
development and support their local SMEs to engage in related businesses.
Measures to promote development of cross-border e-commerce are also generally
included as one of the elements of these specific plans and/or policy measures,
particularly in recent years as the conventional business channels have been disrupted
by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ensuing paragraphs highlight (a) the measures
implemented by Singapore to support digital transformation and promote
e-commerce development in the country; and (b) the comprehensive road
maps/master plans and other initiatives implemented by Malaysia, Indonesia and
Vietnam to foster their e-commerce capabilities. 25 The operations of local and
regional e-commerce platforms, which account for much of online sales in the
ASEAN member countries, will be briefly discussed as well.

Singapore

4.2 Singapore is leading other ASEAN member countries in digital integration

development with its ADII scores being higher the ASEAN averages, thanks to its
more well-established e-commerce infrastructure and business system. Over the
past decade or so, Singapore’s efforts to promote e-commerce development have
been focused on supporting local enterprises to adopt digital technologies and
e-commerce, and strengthening Singapore as an international e-commerce hub.
Major measures taken include encouraging SMEs to undergo digital transformation
and supporting them to venture into e-commerce business, as well as facilitating
digital trade by launching a one-stop trade information management platform.

Digital transformation

4.3 Facilitation measures to encourage SME undergoing digital transformation

include the implementation of (a) the Retail Industry Transformation Map since 2016
to support technology adoption of local retailers with a view to improving
productivity, diversifying sales channels and increasing online presence of
business;26 and (b) the SMEs Go Digital programme launched in 2017 to help SMEs

25
Other ASEAN member countries such as Thailand and the Philippines have also implemented
their respective policies and measures to promote e-commerce in their economies. Please see
Appendix 4 for details.
26
As a result of the programme, nine in 10 SMEs in the retail sector had adopted at least one
digital solution to improve their business processes in 2021. For example, many SMEs had
resorted to e-commerce to diversify and increase their revenue streams. Compared with the
pre-COVID-19, the proportion of online sales out of total sales for the retail sector more than
doubled from about 7% in 2019 to 16% in 2021. See Enterprise Singapore (2022).

9
adopt digital technologies to strengthen their capabilities to seize growth
opportunities in the digital economy.27

Entry into e-commerce businesses

4.4 Support measures for SMEs to venture into e-commerce businesses include:

(a) providing advisory services, and networking and international

market access opportunities for e-commerce startups through the
Action Community for Entrepreneurship programme introduced in
2014;

(b) offering funding and technical support to help SMEs expand their
local and/or overseas e-commerce business under the Grow Digital
initiative launched in 2020;28 and

(c) providing guidelines on e-commerce operations by launching the

national standard of e-commerce transactions (Technical Reference 76)
in June 2020 to serve as a checklist for businesses to develop
customer-centric e-commerce processes and policies.29

National Trade Platform

4.5 The Singaporean government facilitates digital trade by launching a

one-stop trade information management platform, the National Trade Platform, in
2018 that enables businesses to share and reuse secure data and documents among
their business partners, as well as with the government. This in turn helps
businesses streamline their work processes, reduce inefficiencies of manual trade
document exchange, and draw business insights from analysis of their trade data.

27
The programme covers initiatives such as (a) Industry Digital Plans that provides industry
specific digital plans to guide SMEs to assess their digital readiness, and that identify digital
solutions and training programmes relevant to their stages of digital transformation; and
(b) Pre-Approved Solutions that help SMEs access digital solutions that are market-proven,
cost-effective and supported by reliable vendors. As at March 2022, more than 80 000 SMEs
had adopted digital solutions offered under the programme. See Infocomm Media
Development Authority (2022).
28
Being part of the SMEs Go Digital programme, the Grow Digital initiative provides for eligible
SMEs to receive funding support for using pre-approved B2B and B2C e-commerce platforms
to reach out to business clients in overseas markets. SMEs may also receive digital marketing
support and training from the Singapore Institute of Retail Studies to operate an e-commerce
business. See Infocomm Media Development Authority and Enterprise Singapore (2020).
29
See Allen & Gledhill (2020).

10
4.6 In addition to the above three measures, Enterprise Singapore and
Singapore Business Federation30 recently partnered Amazon in July 2023 to launch
the Singapore Cross-border Brand Launchpad to unlock growth opportunities in
cross-border e-commerce.31 The programme will help over 100 Singaporean SMEs
to launch and scale their brands through global selling in the next two years, as well
as assisting at least 300 Singaporean companies in equipping them with knowledge
of cross-border e-commerce through a dedicated cross-border e-commerce learning
series developed by Singapore Business Federation and Amazon.32

Malaysia

4.7 Malaysia has made great strides in promoting the development of

e-commerce in recent years, with its e-commerce activities in GMV more than tripled
between 2019 and 2022 to US$14 billion (HK$109.6 billion). The Malaysian
government laid down the first National E-Commerce Strategic Roadmap
2017-2020 (“NESR 1.0”) in 2016 to drive the development of e-commerce through a
“whole-of-nation” approach involving multiple government authorities in leading the
relevant initiatives or programmes. NESR 1.0 covered initiatives/programmes
under six strategic directions including: (a) promoting national brands to boost
cross-border e-commerce; (b) accelerating sellers’ adoption of e-commerce;
(c) increasing adoption of e-procurement by businesses; (d) lifting non-tariff barriers
to e-commerce adoption; (e) investing strategically in selected e-commerce players;
and (f) realigning existing economic incentives. Reflecting the achievements of
NESR 1.0, SMEs that adopted e-commerce more than tripled from 130 000 in 2016
to some 490 000 as at end-2020. Besides, e-commerce contribution to GDP
increased from 6.1% in 2016 to 8.5% in 2019 and further to 11.5% in 2020.33

4.8 Building on the success of NESR 1.0, the Malaysian government launched
NESR 2.0 in 2021, targeting at further growing the number of SMEs that adopt
e-commerce to some 1.15 million and businesses that adopt e-commerce for exports
to 84 000 by 2025. The six updated strategic directions and related development
areas under NESR 2.0 are (a) increasing e-commerce adoption; (b) capitalizing on
export potential; (c) spearheading e-commerce innovation; (d) strengthening
e-commerce fulfilment capabilities; (e) tapping the power of data; and (f) improving
consumer and seller protection:34
30
Enterprise Singapore is a government agency that addresses the needs of Singaporean
companies to strengthen their competitiveness, while the Singapore Business Federation is the
apex business chamber representing the business community's interests in Singapore.
31
See Amazon (2023).
32
Key topics include introduction to cross-border e-commerce business model, solutions to tackle
common global e-commerce challenges, and relevant digital economy skills such as product
selection and preparation, overseas market and consumer research, digital brand building and
tools, performance optimization, cross-border logistics, and more.
33
See Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (2021b, 2023).
34
Ibid.

11
4.9 As for specific programmes to promote e-commerce adoption among SMEs
and consumers, the Malaysian government implemented the “Go-eCommerce
Onboarding” and “Shop Malaysia Online” campaigns in 2021. Under the
“Go-eCommerce Onboarding” campaign, an incentive package had been put in place
to provide financial aid/subsidies to local businesses to onboard onto e-commerce
platforms. The government had also given away incentives such as discounts,
rebates and shopping vouchers under “Shop Malaysia Online” campaign to
consumers to encourage them to shop online from local businesses. As at end-2021,
the two campaigns together had benefited more than 830 000 SMEs, with some
370 000 new SMEs onboarded onto e-commerce platforms.35, 36

4.10 In addition to the above, Malaysia also seeks to establish itself as a regional
and global e-fulfilment and transhipment hub to facilitate cross-border e-commerce
while driving the domestic export sector via e-commerce. In 2020, a joint venture
of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad and Alibaba 37 developed a state-of-art
110 000 square metre e-fulfilment centre and smart logistics centre at Kuala Lumpur
International Airport. The hub helps facilitate e-commerce deliveries within
Malaysia to be completed within 24 hours or less, with the ultimate goal of 72-hour
delivery to the rest of the world.38

Indonesia

4.11 Indonesia is the most populous country in ASEAN with the largest
e-commerce market in the region, at a size of US$59 billion (HK$461.7 billion) in
2022. It put forward the E-Commerce Road Map 2017-2019 (“E-Commerce Road
Map”) in 2017 to provide strategic guidance for various government agencies to
implement various initiatives and programmes to accelerate e-commerce
development in the country. The E-Commerce Road Map features the following
major policy directions under eight key areas:39

(a) communication – strengthening communication infrastructure with

the construction of a nationwide broadband network;

(b) logistics – riding on the improvements of the national logistics system

planned under the relevant blueprint to reduce time and costs of
35
See The Edge Malaysia (2022).
36
With the success of the “Go-eCommerce Onboarding” and “Shop Malaysia Online” campaigns
in 2021, the Malaysian government continued both campaigns in 2022 with the RM 250 million
(HK$425 million) allocation under the 2022 Budget. See Ministry of Finance Malaysia
(2021).
37
Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad is a Malaysian airport company that manages most of the
airports in Malaysia, while Alibaba is a Mainland e-commerce company headquartered in
Hangzhou.
38
See Hong Kong Trade Development Council (2020).
39
See World Trade Organization (2021).

12
 delivery; assisting the development of outsourced e-commerce logistics
facilities for SMEs, and building the capacity of local and national
logistic companies;

(c) funding – offering loans, subsidies or grants to SMEs engaging in

e-commerce, startups developing e-commerce platforms, and business
incubators;

(d) taxation – simplifying the registration and tax procedures for

e-commerce startups; offering tax incentives to e-commerce startups
and investors, and applying tax parity principle for local and foreign
e-commerce businesses;

(e) cybersecurity – developing a national monitoring system for

e-commerce transactions, introducing certification arrangements for
consumer data protection, and enhancing public awareness of
cybercrime;

(f) consumer protection – harmonizing regulations governing

e-commerce transactions, payment mechanism, dispute settlement and
protection of consumers and e-commerce businesses, as well as
developing a national payment gateway for online transactions;

(g) education and human resources – introducing education programmes

for e-commerce SMEs and policy makers, and offering incubator
programmes for e-commerce startups; and

(h) management – forming a steering and management committee to

ensure success in the execution of the E-Commerce Road Map.

4.12 In addition to E-Commerce Road Map, the Indonesian government also

standardized the QR code payment system in 2019 and has been working with other
ASEAN member countries to align their standards in order to facilitate cross-border
e-commerce in the region. It also issued regulations concerning the legal operation
of the e-commerce industry in the country in 2019 and 2020 respectively. 40
In particular, Ministry of Trade Regulation No. 50/2020 mandates e-commerce
companies to prioritize locally produced goods and services in their business
activities. For example, the prioritization treatments should be in the form of trade
promotion for local SMEs’ products and services on their digital platforms.

40
In 2019, the Indonesian government issued Government Regulation No. 80/2019 on Trade
Through Electronic System, which is implemented by Ministry of Trade Regulation
No. 50/2020. The latter defines the types of businesses involved in e-commerce, sets out
specific requirements for business activities, and provides a framework for consumer protection.

13
Such provision is to support locally made products and services in response to the
easy availability of foreign-produced products and services through cross-border
e-commerce platforms.41

4.13 The recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the
development of digital economy in Indonesia. Mobility limitations have
encouraged businesses – Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (“MSMEs”) in
particular – to go digital. The Indonesian government launched the “Proud of
Indonesian Products” National Movement in September 2021 aiming at, among
others, supporting MSMEs to adopt e-commerce for expanding their markets.
In 2022, 30% of some 65 million MSMEs in Indonesia had adopted digitalized sales
channel, up from 13% in 2020. The target is to further boost the digitalization rate
to 47% by 2024.42

Vietnam

4.14 Vietnam reportedly is the e-commerce market offering the most promising
potential among ASEAN-6, with the fastest growth rate forecast at 129% between
2022 and 2025 (Figure 1). The Vietnamese government has long-term and
consistent policies to develop e-commerce with master plans for each five-year
period, starting in 2006. The fourth national master plan, Masterplan for National
E-Commerce Development (2021-2025) (“2021-2025 Plan”) was laid down in 2020
to further drive the growth of the digital economy with a view to building Vietnam
as one of the most promising e-commerce markets in the region. Major targets to
be achieved by 2025 include:

(a) increasing the scale of e-commerce with (i) 55% of the population
shopping online and per capita spending rising to US$600 (HK$4,696)
from US$202 (HK$1,581) in 2018; and (ii) B2C online sales growing
at an annual rate of 25% to reach US$35 billion (HK$273.9 billion) that
would account for 10% of total retail sales of goods and services;

(b) strengthening infrastructure of supporting services for e-commerce

with (i) 50% non-cash payment in e-commerce; (ii) 70% of purchases
on e-commerce website/application with electronic invoices; and
(iii) building and putting into use a shared database on e-commerce;
and

41
See Carl & Rahimi (2020).
42
See Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia (2022).

14
 (c) enhancing application of e-commerce among enterprises with (i) 80%
of e-commerce website incorporated online ordering functions;
(ii) 50% of SMEs operating on e-commerce trading platform; and
(iii) 40% of enterprises participating in e-commerce on mobile
devices.43

4.15 To accomplish the set targets, the 2021-2015 Plan sets out strategic
directions guiding new support programmes that include: (a) strengthening the
e-commerce infrastructure and related supporting services such as e-payment, order
fulfilment and logistic services, and authentication of electronic contracts and
documents; (b) safeguarding against commercial fraud, infringement of intellectual
property rights and unfair competition in e-commerce; (c) building consumer
confidence in e-commerce; and (d) promoting e-commerce application to support key
export industries, expand consumption of domestic goods and promote the
development of e-commerce in localities.

4.16 On promoting cross-border e-commerce, the 2021-2015 Plan features

(a) building national pavilions on main cross-border e-commerce platforms to
promote major Vietnamese brands, and providing comprehensive support to SMEs
to onboard onto local and overseas e-commerce platforms44; (b) finetuning policies
and legislation to facilitate e-commerce development amidst latest technological
developments; (c) developing an online system to manage transportation, delivery
and order fulfilment services for e-commerce in the country, gradually expanding to
the region to promote cross-border e-commerce activities; and (d) organizing annual
e-commerce events to expand cross-border e-commerce activities.

Major e-commerce platforms in ASEAN

4.17 Amidst the growth of the digital economies in the ASEAN region, a number
of local and regional e-commerce platforms have emerged to dominate the online
sales markets. They offer a wide array of products, competitive prices, and
convenient shopping experiences. The two major regional e-commerce platforms
with strong presence across the ASEAN region are Shopee and Lazada. As to local
e-commerce platforms, Tokopedia in Indonesia is the most frequently visited
platform with an average of some 137 million visits per month.45

43
See Ministry of Industry and Trade (2020) and Development Asia (2021).
44
For example, the Vietnamese government introduced a programme in late 2022 to provide
information and training to local enterprises to improve their capacity to participate in the global
value chain. Besides, support was offered to enterprises to help them participate in
cross-border e-commerce. See Vietnam Plus (2023).
45
See Webretailer (2023).

15
Shopee

4.18 Shopee 46 is the most frequently visited e-commerce platform in the

ASEAN region reportedly having an average of some 343 million visits per month.47
Shopee was originally launched as a mobile application for consumer-for-consumer
(“C2C”) trading but evolved to include B2C trading on mobile as well as Internet
platforms. The popularity of Shopee is attributable to its special features including:

(a) providing an easy-to-navigate mobile platform integrating

“shoppertainment” elements such as shopping, games, lucky draw,
streaming events to engage users;

(b) customization of the platform to fit the culture, language and consumer
preference of individual markets;

(c) offering heavy promotions such as free shipping, flash sales and
discount coupons to attract consumers; and

(d) providing “Shopee Guarantee” to protect both buyers and sellers

against fraudulent transactions by holding the payment to sellers until
the buyer confirms receipt of the products.

4.19 As for cross-border e-commerce, fulfilment by Shopee is only offered to

selected brands and distributors while smaller brands may need to take up fulfilment
services offered by third parties. In 2022, gross orders made through Shopee
increased by 23.7% to 7.6 billion and GMV by 17.6% to US$73.5 billion
(HK$575.2 billion) over a year earlier in tandem.48

Lazada

4.20 Lazada49 is another key regional e-commerce platform having a presence

in multiple ASEAN member countries, reportedly having an average of some
128 million visits per month. 50 Lazada tailors its service programmes to serve

46
Shopee is a subsidiary of Sea Limited which is a Singapore-based consumer Internet company
providing e-commerce, digital entertainment and digital financial services in ASEAN and other
places. Mainland Internet company Tencent has acquired a 18.7% stake in Sea Limited.
Shopee was first launched in Singapore in 2015 and had later expanded its reach to Indonesia,
Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, as well as Taiwan and Brazil.
47
See Webretailer (2023).
48
See Sea Limited (2023).
49
Lazada, based in Singapore, was founded in 2012 and acquired by Alibaba in 2016.
At present, it operates localized online marketplaces in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
50
See Webretailer (2023).

16
different segments of sellers, namely (a) the Local Sellers programme for local
sellers; (b) the LazMall Sellers programme for brand owners and authorized
distributors; and (c) the LazGlobal Sellers programme for cross-border sellers, with
Lazada offering fulfilment support through its strong logistic infrastructure and
network in ASEAN. Between September 2020 and September 2021, Lazada
reportedly generated US$21 billion (HK$164.3 billion) in GMV. Its monthly active
users grew from 92 million in March 2020 to 159 million in September 2021.51

Tokopedia

4.21 Tokopedia is a C2C e-commerce platform in Indonesia where very small

businesses or private individuals can sell their products online. Indonesian
businesses can sell on Tokopedia as Regular Merchants or Power Merchants with the
latter being offered more marketing and sales support services. Nonetheless,
Tokopedia does not provide services for international sellers. In 2020, the GMV of
Tokopedia was estimated to be US$12 billion (HK$93.9 billion), with some
100 million active users making purchases from over 11 million sellers.52

5. Concluding remarks

5.1 In Hong Kong, trading firms in the I&E trade sector have been exploring
opportunities to tap into the growing digital Mainland and ASEAN economies in
recent years. They have sought to diversify into cross-border e-commerce activities
to offset the adverse impact arising from the gradual decline of conventional trading
activities. Meanwhile, the Government has been supporting local enterprises
(including those in the I&E trade sector) with subsidies and various support measures,
in an effort to help them undergo digital transformation and expand their business
into high potential/growing markets through e-commerce channels. Nonetheless,
some stakeholders have called on the Government to intensify its support by devising
dedicated policy framework and measures to promote the development of
cross-border e-commerce in Hong Kong, as well as supporting the development of a
large-scale e-commerce platform in Hong Kong that can facilitate local businesses
(especially SMEs and startups) in connecting smoothly with relevant places and offer
one-stop services including business matching, cross-border logistics and
transportation arrangement and payment settlement.

5.2 ASEAN member countries have stepped up their efforts to develop

domestic and cross-border e-commerce as a growth driver in the past decade or so.
Promoting e-commerce development has become an increasingly important strategy
lately to boost post-COVID-19 economic recovery as online shopping becomes more

51
See Tech in Asia (2021).
52
See Webretailer (2023).

17
prevalent across the region after the pandemic. While ASEAN has put forward
comprehensive strategic frameworks and work plans to guide coordinated efforts
among member countries to enhance digital integration and e-commerce
development, individual ASEAN member countries have formulated their own
specific measures/action plans to strengthen e-commerce infrastructure, support local
enterprises to go digital and onboard onto e-commerce platforms, and promote
consumer confidence in and usage of e-commerce.

5.3 With regard to the facilitation of cross-border e-commerce development,

ASEAN member countries have adopted strategies/measures such as: (a) providing
funding support in terms of subsidies or loans to assist local enterprises to go digital
and onboard onto e-commerce platforms (as in the cases of Singapore and
Indonesia); (b) helping enterprises access e-commerce solutions provided by
pre-approved service providers to reach out to business clients in overseas markets
(Singapore); (c) developing and promoting national brand on cross-border
marketplaces (Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam); (d) enhancing local e-payment
system and integrating it with those of other member countries to promote
cross-border transactions (Indonesia); and (e) forging partnership with technologies
companies to achieve synergies in cross-border e-commerce development
(Singapore and Malaysia).

Prepared by Michael YU and Ivy CHENG

Research Office
Research and Information Division
Legislative Council Secretariat
17 October 2023
Tel: 3919 3181

Information Notes are compiled for Members and Committees of the Legislative Council. They are not legal or
other professional advice and shall not be relied on as such. Information Notes are subject to copyright owned by The Legislative
Council Commission (The Commission). The Commission permits accurate reproduction of Information Notes for
non-commercial use in a manner not adversely affecting the Legislative Council. Please refer to the Disclaimer and Copyright
Notice on the Legislative Council website at www.legco.gov.hk for details. The paper number of this issue of Information Note
is IN20/2023.

18
 Appendix 1

Performance of individual ASEAN member countries

in the six pillars of the “ASEAN Digital Integration Index”

Pillar 1 – Digital Trade and Logistics Pillar 2 – Data Protection and Cybersecurity
90 91 88
83 83
79 78
72
67 63 67
61 63(1)
55
50 55(1)
34 33
23 25 20
19

SG MA IN TH VN PH BD LAO CAM MY (2) SG MA IN TH VN PH BD LAO CAM MY

(2)

Pillar 3 – Digital Payments and Identities Pillar 4 – Digital Skills and Talent
87 88
79
70
60 64
58 58
59(1) 53 53
45 41 46 44 44 48(1)
32 33 38 37
20

SG MA IN TH VN PH BD LAO CAM MY (2) SG MA IN TH VN PH BD LAO CAM MY (2)

Pillar 5 – Innovation and Entrepreneurship Pillar 6 – Institutional and Infrastructural

Readiness
90
82
71 71
62 63 61 59
59 56 63(1)
49 45 47 45 51
43 49(1) 38 45
37 38

SG MA IN TH VN PH BD LAO CAM MY (2) SG MA IN TH VN PH BD LAO CAM MY (2)

Notes: (1) The figure refers to the ASEAN average score. The score of a member country is calculated and
normalized on a scale of 100 and the ASEAN average score is a simple average of the scores of all
member countries.
(2) “SG” = Singapore; “MA” = Malaysia; “IN” = Indonesia; “TH” = Thailand; “VN” = Vietnam;
“PH” = the Philippines; “BD” = Brunei Darussalam; “LAO” = Lao PDR; “CAM” = Cambodia; and
“MY” = Myanmar.
Source: Association of Southeast Asian Nations (2021a).

19
 Appendix 2

Key indicators of socio-economic profile of ASEAN member countries (2021)

Mid-year Average annual GDP at GDP GDP by

population GDP growth current prices per capita economic sectors (%)
(million) (2012-2021) (US$ billion) (US$) Agriculture Industry Services
Brunei
0.4 -0.2% 13.9 32,383 1.2% 61.9% 36.9%
Darussalam
Cambodia 16.6 5.7% 27.2 1,603 24.3% 39.2% 36.4%
Indonesia 272.2 4.4% 1,185.8 4,349 13.8% 41.5% 44.6%
Lao PDR 7.3 6.3% 19.6 2,693 18.1% 38.6% 43.3%
Malaysia 32.6 3.8% 372.8 11,400 9.7% 38.2% 52.1%
Myanmar 55.3 5.4% 72.9 1,314 21.4%(1) 38.0%(1) 40.7%(1)
Philippines 110.2 4.9% 393.6 3,553 10.1% 28.9% 61.0%
Singapore 5.5 3.2% 394.6 72,400 * 26.4% 73.6%
Thailand 65.2 2.3% 505.9 7,645 8.5% 32.1% 59.4%
Vietnam 98.5 5.6% 362.0 3,674 12.4%(2) 37.9%(2) 40.9%(2)
ASEAN Total 663.9 4.1% 3,348.2 5,024 N.A.(3) N.A.(3) N.A.(3)
Notes: (1) 2019 figures.
(2) The sectoral contributions do not add up to 100% due to separate treatment of “taxes less subsidies for products”.
(3) N.A. = data not available.
(*) Less than 0.05%.
Sources: The ASEAN Secretariat (2022) and Asian Development Bank (2022).

20
 Appendix 3

Work Plan on the Implementation of ASEAN Agreement on Electronic Commerce

A.3.1 The Work Plan on the Implementation of ASEAN Agreement on Electronic

Commerce (“the Work Plan”) features measures/initiatives in three focus areas with
a view to creating a digital community where the flows of digitally enabled goods,
services and data is underpinned by greater alignment of rules, regulations, talent
and infrastructure. Actions are also proposed to address inadequacies in the
elements under the six pillars identified in the study on ADII. The three focus areas
and related key development directions are as follows:(1)

(a) facilitating cross-border e-commerce transactions in the region by

(i) engaging key stakeholders such as customs agencies, postal
agencies and private sector stakeholders to take collaborative
improvement actions to address key obstacles to efficient e-commerce
logistics in the region; (ii) expanding the use of paperless trading by
driving interoperability of the relevant systems of individual member
countries; (iii) exploring ways to share information on customs
duties and value added taxes collection with a view to providing
greater transparency and certainty to businesses engaging in
cross-border e-commerce; and (iv) encouraging the adoption of the
voluntary ASEAN Cross Border Data Flow Mechanism which
comprises model contractual clauses to ensure secure and trusted
cross-border information transfer related to e-commerce;

(b) facilitating businesses to engage in e-commerce by (i) adopting laws

and regulations that are aligned with international standards to govern
electronic transactions; (ii) adopting measures aligned with
international norms to eliminate restrictions to the adoption of
appropriate authentication technologies as well as develop a
user-friendly interoperable electronic authentication approach;
(iii) putting in place laws and regulations to govern electronic
signatures; (iv) advancing the development of secure, efficient and
interoperable e-payment systems; (v) reviewing existing intellectual
property (“IP”) rights commitments to ensure that they apply in a digital
setting to provide effective IP rights protection and enforcement;
and (vi) ensuring that competition policies clearly address
cross-border e-commerce activities; and

(1)
See Association of Southeast Asian Nations (2021d).

21
 (c) strengthening consumer confidence and participation in
e-commerce by (i) enhancing consumer protection in the digital
environment; (ii) encouraging the use of alternative dispute
resolution to resolve claims in the digital space; (iii) adopting an
appropriate legal framework and measures that provide for the
protection of personal information and privacy in conformity with
the ASEAN Framework on Personal Data Protection and other
international best practices; and (iv) establishing collaborative
mechanisms to tackle cybersecurity and cybercrime challenges.

A.3.2 The Work Plan complements other existing strategy frameworks and work
plans that support the development of ASEAN into a leading digital community.
The latter include:

(a) the ASEAN Digital Integration Framework Action Plan 2019-2025

endorsed in 2019 to (i) specify the key initiatives to be adopted in six
priority areas for addressing the critical barriers;(2) and (ii) accelerate
existing ASEAN platforms to realize digital integration; and

(b) the ASEAN Digital Master Plan 2025 adopted in 2021 to (i) lay down
the vision to build ASEAN as a leading digital community and
economic bloc powered by secure and transformative digital services
and technologies; and (ii) specify the enabling actions to be taken to
achieve the related goals in eight key areas, which include enhancing
digital services to connect businesses and facilitate cross-border trade,
and increasing capability for businesses and people to participate in the
digital economy.(3)

(2)
These six priority areas are related to the six pillars of ADII, namely: (a) facilitating seamless
trade; (b) protecting data while supporting digital trade and innovation; (c) enabling seamless
digital payments; (d) broadening digital talent base; (e) fostering entrepreneurship; and
(f) improving coordination of improvement actions. See Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (2019b).
(3)
See Association of Southeast Asian Nations (2021b).

22
 Appendix 4
Measures to promote e-commerce development in Thailand and the Philippines

A.4.1 ASEAN member countries such as Thailand and the Philippines have
also implemented their own strategic plans to guide the development of
e-commerce in their economies.

A.4.2 The Thai government launched the E-Commerce Development Plan

2017-2021 in 2016, setting the strategies to grow the e-commerce market by
improving the e-commerce capabilities of SMEs, building a user-friendly and
accessible e-commerce ecosystem, and establishing standards to enhance
consumer protection and build trust in consumers.(1) In the latest E-Commerce
Development Plan for 2021-2027, Thailand is targeting to increase e-commerce
revenue to more than THB 7.1 trillion baht (HK$1,590 billion) by 2027, with an
annual growth rate of 10%. Efforts would be put on supporting the development
of local e-commerce platforms and promoting domestic and cross-border online
trade, in addition to continuous investment on strengthening the local
e-commerce ecosystem and capacity building.(2)

A.4.3 The Philippine government released its E-Commerce Roadmap

2016-2020 in 2016, laying down the policies and measures to promote the growth
of e-commerce in the country by strengthening its e-commerce infrastructure and
human capital, and supporting investment and innovation in the sector.(3) The
updated E-Commerce Philippines 2022 Roadmap announced in 2021 builds on
the accomplishments since 2016 to facilitate participation of local SMEs in
e-commerce in the domestic and foreign markets. As for facilitating
cross-border e-commerce, the Philippine government has strived to enhance
cross-border cooperation and market access through trading agreements and
economic cooperation programmes with major e-commerce trading partners.(4)

(1)
See Electronic Transactions Development Agency, Thailand (2018).
(2)
See Bangkok Post (2022).
(3)
See Department of Trade and Industry Philippines (2018).
(4)
See Department of Trade and Industry Philippines (2021).

23
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industry-transformation-map-2025-to-develop-global-singapore-brands-
accelerate-innovation-and-internationalisation.pdf

32. GuideMeSingapore. (2023) Initiatives for E-Commerce Businesses in

Singapore. Available from: https://www.guidemesingapore.com/business-
guides/industry-guides/ecommerce-industry/singapore-e-commerce-initiatives

33. Infocomm Media Development Authority. (2022) Factsheet: Helping SMEs

Go Digital. Available from: https://www.imda.gov.sg/%2D/media/imda/file
s/programme/smes-go-digital/smesgd-factsheet.pdf

34. Infocomm Media Development Authority. (2023a) Grow Digital.

Available from: https://www.imda.gov.sg/how-we-can-help/smes-go-
digital/grow%2Ddigital#:~:text=Grow%20Digital%2C%20an%20initiative
%20by,platforms%2C%20both%20locally%20and%20overseas

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35. Infocomm Media Development Authority. (2023b) SMEs Go Digital.
Available from: https://www.imda.gov.sg/how-we-can-help/smes-go-digital

36. Infocomm Media Development Authority and Enterprise Singapore. (2020)

Joint Media Release: More Than 500 SMEs Access New Overseas Markets
with Grow Digital, 22 June. Available from: https://www.imda.gov.sg/reso
urces/press%2Dreleases%2Dfactsheets%2Dand%2Dspeeches/press%2Drel
eases/2020/more%2Dthan-500-smes-access-new-overseas-markets--with-
grow-digital

37. Supply Chain Asia. (2018) Singapore: E-Commerce - Gateway to ASEAN

and Southwest Pacific. Available from: https://www.edb.gov.sg/content/da
m/edb%2Den/insights/innovation/singapore%2Dindustry%2Dinitiatives%2
Dfor%2De%2Dcommerce/Spore-ECommerceGateway.pdf

Malaysia

38. Hong Kong Trade Development Council. (2020) Malaysia: E-Fulfilment

Hub Opens at Kuala Lumpur Airport. Available from: https://research.hktd
c.com/en/article/NTg4NDQyNjU4

39. Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation. (2020) National E-Commerce

Strategic Roadmap (Sharing Session by Carol Fung). Available from:
https://www.mdbc.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/MCF20-MDEC-
NESR.pdf

40. Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation. (2021a) MDEC Kicks Off

Go-eCommerce Onboarding and Shop Malaysia Online Campaigns in
Benefit of 300,000 Local Businesses. Available from:
https://mdec.my/media-release/news-press-release/104/MDEC-Kicks-Off-
Go-eCommerce-Onboarding-and-Shop-Malaysia-Online-Campaigns-In-
Benefit-of-300,000-Local-Businesses

41. Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation. (2021b) National E-Commerce

Strategic Roadmap 2021-2025. Available from: https://mdec.my/static/pdf/
nesr/NESR-2021-to-2025_e-Book-_ENGLISH.pdf

42. Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation. (2023) National E-Commerce

Strategic Roadmap – The Whole-of-Nation Approach in Driving eCommerce.
Available from: https://www.carecprogram.org/uploads/Central-Asian-
Governments-and-Private-Sector-Day-1-Session3-MDEC-Laura-Ho_15-
May-2023_eng.pdf

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43. Ministry of Finance Malaysia (2021) Budget Speech 2022. Available from:
https://belanjawan.mof.gov.my/pdf/2022/ucapan/bs22.pdf

44. The Edge Malaysia. (2022) E-Commerce: The Digital Heart of Malaysia’s
Economy. Available from: https://theedgemalaysia.com/article/ecommerce-
digital-heart-malaysias-economy

Indonesia

45. Carl, M. & Rahimi, A. (2020) Indonesia Introduces New Requirements for
E-Commerce Companies. Available from: https://ssek.com/blog/indonesia-
introduces-new-requirements-for-e-commerce-companies/

46. Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia. (2022) Indonesia Strives to

Expand Coverage of Digitalization of MSMEs. Available
from: https://kemlu.go.id/yangon/en/news/20994/indonesia-strives-to-
expand-coverage-of-digitalization-of-msmes

47. Ministry of Communications and Informatics. (2016) Rampung Digodok,

Ini 7 Poin Inti Roadmap E-Commerce. Available
from: https://www.kominfo.go.id/content/detail/6731/rampung-digodok-ini-
7-poin-inti-roadmap-e-commerce/0/sorotan_media

48. Ministry of Communications and Informatics. (undated) MSMEs Digital

Technology Intervention: Policy and Strategies in Indonesia. Available
from: https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/event/772211/files/session-1-
nyoman-adhiarna-rev.pdf

49. Rajah & Tann Asia. (2017) Indonesia’s E-Commerce Road Map.
Available from: https://eoasis.rajahtann.com/eoasis/lu/pdf/2017-08-
Indonesia_E-Commerce.pdf

50. World Trade Organization. (2021) Engaging in the Digital Economy: Issues
and Agenda in the Quest to Adopt Indonesia’s E-Commerce Roadmap,
In: Adapting to the Digital Trade Era Challenges and Opportunities,
Chapter 7. Available from: https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/11
_adtera_chapter_07_e.pdf

Vietnam

51. Development Asia. (2021) Vietnam’s Policies to Facilitate E-Commerce and

Digital Transformation. Available from: https://events.development.asia/sy
stem/files/materials/2021/09/202109%2dviet%2dnams%2dpolicies%2dfacil
itate%2de%2dcommerce-and-digital-transformation.pdf

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52. Ministry of Industry and Trade. (2020) National Master Plan on
E-Commerce Development in a Period of 2021-2025. Available from:
http://asemconnectvietnam.gov.vn/default.aspx?ZID1=14&ID8=97603&ID1=2

53. Ministry of Industry and Trade. (undated) Vietnam’s Policies to Promote the
Development of E-Commerce. Available from: https://www.unescap.org/sit
es/default/files/3.%20Vietnam%20Huong%20Dieu%20Nguyen_0.pdf

54. Phung A.T. (2021) The Master Plan on E-Commerce Development in

Vietnam During 2021-2025 Has Officially Been Approved, LinkedIn.
Available from: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/master-plan-e-commerce-
development-vietnam-during-2021-tuan-phung-a-/

55. vanbanphapluat.co. (2016) Decision No. 1563/QD-TTg Dated August 08, to

Approve Master Plan for E-Commerce Development in 2016-2020 Period.
Available from: https://vanbanphapluat.co/decision-1563-qd-ttg-approve-
master-plan-for-e-commerce-development-2016-2020

56. Vietnam Plus. (2023) Hanoi Moves to Help Firms Join Foreign Distribution
Systems. Available from: https://en.vietnamplus.vn/hanoi-moves-to-help-
firms-join-foreign-distribution-systems/251546.vnp

Others

57. Asian Development Bank. (2022) Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific
2022. Available from: https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/81
2946/ki2022.pdf

58. Bangkok Post. (2022) Committee Approves Draft E-Commerce Action Plan.
Available from: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2298374/committe
e-approves-draft-e-commerce-action-plan

59. Department of Trade and Industry Philippines. (2018) Philippine

E-Commerce Roadmap 2016-2020 – Updates. Available from: http://www.
bigconnectivity.org/beta/sites/default/files/2018%2D03/Session%203_Topi
c%203.2.pdf

60. Department of Trade and Industry Philippines. (2021) E-Commerce

Philippines 2022 Roadmap. Available from: https://www.studocu.com/ph/do
cument/mindanao-state-university/bs-accountancy/e-commerce-philippines-
roadmap-2022/61075391

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61. Electronic Transactions Development Agency, Thailand. (2018)
E-Commerce and Its Development in Thailand: An Empirical Evidence from
the Survey on Thailand’s E-Commerce. Available from: https://asean-
competition.org/research/uploads/admin%2Df88de83727/files/blogs/23092
018/batch2/Thailand%20Country%20Study_Yot%20Amornkitvikai%20an
d%20Jiraporn%20Tangpoolcharoen.pdf

62. Google, Temasek and Bain & Company. (2022) e-Conomy SEA 2022.
Available from: https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/e_conomy_sea_2
022_report.pdf

63. ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute. (2021) Digital Trade in Southeast Asia:
Measurements and Policy Directions. Available from:
https://www.iseas.edu.sg/wp%2Dcontent/uploads/2021/10/ISEAS_Perspectiv
e_2021_147-1.pdf

64. Sea Limited. (2023) Sea Limited Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022
Results. Available from: https://cdn.sea.com/webmain/static/resource/seagr
oup/website/investornews/4Q2022/ul1GKrCrOCOe0FFQKjXq/2023.03.07
%20Sea%20Fourth%20Quarter%20and%20Full%20Year%202022%20Res
ults.pdf

65. Tech in Asia. (2021) Lazada Delivers $21b GMV in a Year. Available from:
https://www.techinasia.com/lazada-delivers-21b-gmv-year

66. Temasek. (2022) e-Conomy SEA 2022 Report: Southeast Asia’s Digital
Economy is on Course Towards $200B GMV in 2022, Three Years Earlier
than Projected. Available from: https://www.temasek.com.sg/en/news-and-
resources/news-room/news/2022/e-Conomy-SEA-2022-report

67. Webretailer. (2023) Online Marketplaces in Southeast Asia: A Unique

Region for Ecommerce. Available from: https://www.webretailer.com/mark
etplaces-worldwide/online-marketplaces-southeast-asia/

Note: ^ Internet resources listed in this section were accessed in October 2023.

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