Socialist Republic of Vietnam

HANOI, Nov 21 Asia Pulse - Vietnam's fledgling Internet sector has received a major boost with the launch of United States-Vietnamese joint venture MeetVietnam.com, the first international business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce collaboration in the country.

The US$1 million MeetVietnam.com, an intricate online portal that provides B2B services via wireless devices, hopes to provide some 30,000 private businesses in Vietnam with extensive new access to international trade via a virtual store front.

The service will allow companies to display goods and services and provide online ordering and shopping opportunities for international buyers.

"The service is designed to help companies manage aspects of cross-border trade, from the discovery to the delivery of products, and dramatically enhance the ability of Vietnamese exporters to identify markets abroad and increase the volume of exports," said Dinh Thi Hoa, MeetVietnam.com's chief executive officer.

"We will provide businesses with free-of-charge services in the early stage while paid memberships may allow more direct B2B transactions and priorities," he said.

"We expect to offer these companies their first direct exposure to overseas markets."

MeetVietNam.com is an initiative formed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Silicon Valley-based cross-border trade platform MeetChina.com, Vietnam's leading Internet service provider the Corporation for Financing and Promoting Technology (FPT) and consulting and public relations group GalaxyVietnam.

"The portal allows Vietnamese businesses, many of them SME exporters, to leap out of near-isolation and help them to join the global marketplace, establishing direct dealings with companies around the world," said Javed Hamid, director of IFC's East Asia-Pacific Department.

"This platform offers the opportunity to take advantage of the Internet, speed up Vietnam's adoption of e-commerce for business, and offer the economy a tremendous chance to grow," said Truong Gia Binh, FPT's President and chief executive officer.

VNA