Viet Nam threatens to block Temu, Shein over registration deadline

Temu's logo is seen in this illustration. Reuters-Yonhap

SEOUL, November 12 (AJP) - Vietnamese authorities warned Chinese e-commerce platforms Temu and Shein they would be blocked if they fail to register their operations by the end of January, Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Nguyen Hoang Long said on Monday.

"After our ministry's notification, if these platforms do not comply, we will coordinate with relevant agencies to implement technical measures such as blocking apps and domains," Long said in a statement. Under Vietnamese law, e-commerce platforms must register if they have a local domain, display content in Vietnamese, or process more than 100,000 transactions annually in the country.

The warning comes as Viet Nam's e-commerce market grew 18 percent to $22 billion this year, ranking third in Southeast Asia behind Indonesia and Thailand, according to a report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company. The market is projected to reach $63 billion by 2030, potentially overtaking Thailand as the region's second-largest e-commerce market.

The Ministry of Finance is also considering ending value-added tax exemptions on imports valued under 1 million dong (US$55), as concerns grow over the platforms' ultra-low-priced Chinese products impacting domestic industries.

AJP