Update--Economy--E-Commerce

An e-commerce development strategy in Vietnam has been submitted to the government for approval, reported Vietnam Post and Telecommunications (VNPT). VNPT has lowered the internet charge and plans to reduce it further in the future as an incentive to the Vietnamese to become internet subscribers. According to preliminary statistics, the number of internet subscribers is still small--50,000 subscribers in a nation of 77 million people. E-commerce development is hindered by an incomplete legal system and poor qualification of management officials. Another reason for low-level e-commerce activities is the local consumer custom of using cash in business transactions. (Vietnam News Agency, January 17, 2000)