Time is running out for Chinese online retailers Shein and Temu, because they could potentially face a being blocked by the Vietnamese government if they do not register their operations with the Vietnamese trade ministry before the end of November.
This move comes amidst the rise of heavily discounted and counterfeit items that are being sold on these two Chinese platforms.
Vietnamese deputy trade minister Nguyen Hoang Long told a government meeting at the weekend that the ministry had worked with both Shein and Temu on the licensing matter.
Minister Long warns that if these platforms still don't comply to the countries' standards after getting the ministry's notification, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will coordinate with relevant agencies to implement technical measures such as blocking applications and domains.
While Shein has been in the Vietnamese market for some time, Temu, owned by Chinese e-commerce giant PDD Holdings, only started allowing users in Vietnam to shop last September.
Temu and Shein migrate to Vietnam after increased scrutiny and legal regulation
Both Temu and Shein first moved to Vietnam after both companies faced increased scrutiny and legal challenges from other Southeast Asian countries.
Last month, Indonesia requested Apple and Google block Temu from their app stores to protect small merchants from competing with ultra-cheap items.
Vietnam's e-commerce market has grown 18% this year to be worth $22 billion, the third-largest in Southeast Asia behind Indonesia and Thailand, according to a report by Google, Temasek and Bain&Company released last week.
Other e-commerce platforms that operate in Vietnam include Singapore-based Shoppe, Alibaba-backed Lazada and domestic companies Tiki and Sendo.
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