Roundup: Cambodia seeing e-commerce grow due to more access to Internet

Investors have turned their eyes to the e-commerce sector in Cambodia as more people in the Southeast Asian nation have access to the Internet, businessmen and commerce officials say.

Cheat Thilong, a marketing officer with a Phnom Penh-based shopping website Shop168, which was launched more than two years ago, said e-commerce outlets are mushrooming here due to the increasing numbers of Internet users.

"Two years ago, there were only a few business-to-customer (B2C) shopping websites in Cambodia, but now the number has reached almost 20," he told Xinhua.

He said his online platform currently partners with 30 stores.

"E-commerce is going well, our sales on average grow about 10 percent every month," he said, attributing the growth to the increasing number of Internet surfers and customer confidence in the company's products and services.

The Shop168 sells products merely in Cambodia, said the merchant, adding that customers in Phnom Penh can pay cash on delivery, while customers in provinces are required to pay cash first via mobile payment company Wing, then the company will send the products to them via logistic company Viettel Post.

Figures from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications show that more than 5 million of the nearly 15-million population in Cambodia have obtained access to the Internet as of 2014, most of whom get online via smart phones.

Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Prak Sokhonn said in April that in Cambodia, Internet penetration rate is currently just over 30 percent and is expected to reach almost 65 percent by 2020.

Sear Rithy, chairman of Worldbridge International Group (WIG), which launched a shopping website called MAIO (My All-In-One) Mall in Phnom Penh in April, said the web portal has seen sales growth from 8 percent to 10 percent month-on-month.

"I'm confident that the online shopping business will be progressive in the coming years due to the growing number of Internet and smart phone users," he said.

"Online shopping provides convenience to customers to look for products they want just in one place."

Commenting on goods delivery and payment means, he said since Worldbridge International Group is a worldwide logistics company and the largest logistics company in Cambodia, it can send products anywhere.

"For payment ways, local shoppers can either pay online by credit cards or by cash on delivery," he said, adding that foreign buyers are required to pay through credit cards first.

According to Rithy, the development of online shopping platforms still have a way to go here because most Cambodian people do not trust the online outlets, they worry that the companies will provide them products that don't reflect what they want.

He said his company is seeking foreign partners and hopes that it will be able to cooperate with China's Alibaba.com in the future.

Speaking about tax payment for online products, he said because there is currently no e-commerce law, both online and offline products are treated in the same way and taxes at that the same level are required to be paid.

Commerce Secretary of State Mao Thora said Cambodia has not yet regulated the e-commerce sector.

He said the Ministry of Commerce, in cooperation with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and the Central Bank, has finalized the draft law on e-commerce, but it has not been sent to the Council of Ministers for approval yet.

"We are working to develop an e-commerce system in Cambodia, but we cannot give a time frame for completing this work because it is a new approach of business for Cambodia," he told Xinhua, adding that the challenges for the sector include a lack of materials and IT experts.

Thora said since there is no law to govern the sector, accurate e-commerce trade volume is currently unavailable. Endi