Shark Binh: The State Needs to Regulate Transaction Fees on E-commerce Platforms to Ease the Burden on Vietnamese Businesses.

Shark Nguyen Hoa Binh, Chairman of NextTech Group, recently posted a noteworthy share on his personal page. Specifically, Mr. Binh emphasized the urgent need for state intervention to protect local sellers from the growing dominance of foreign platforms.

“Transaction fees charged by e-commerce platforms should be placed under state regulation to prevent monopoly and provide relief to Vietnamese businesses suffering from arbitrary fee hikes imposed by foreign platform owners,” he stressed.

During a discussion on “Riding the Big Wave” at the Shark Tank Forum 7, Shark Binh also warned of the significant risks faced by Vietnamese sellers in the e-commerce space. He pointed out that e-commerce is no longer merely a “buy low, sell high” model but has evolved into a “root to tip” game, where manufacturers, especially from China, can directly reach Vietnamese consumers through these platforms.

The reality in China illustrates how e-commerce platforms are tightening their policies, leaving sellers at their mercy. Unreasonable policies, such as unconditional returns and refunds without returning the goods, along with stringent delivery time restrictions, have resulted in soaring operational costs while leaving sellers with minimal autonomy.

“These policies are extremely harsh on sellers. They can drive total e-commerce selling costs up to 40%, or even 45% of revenue, making it impossible to survive,” he exclaimed.

Given this reality, Shark Binh predicts an explosion in the “de-platforming” trend, where sellers will actively reduce their reliance on e-commerce platforms and establish their own sales channels—gaining control over customer data and the entire sales process. In China, this model is being promoted through WeChat Mini Apps, and Shark Binh believes that Zalo has similar potential in Vietnam.

“For example, when you sell on Facebook or e-commerce platforms, you get orders as long as you pump money into advertising. But stop, and the orders dry up. Even basic customer information, such as contact details and shipping addresses, remains with the platform. We will remain slaves forever if we don’t build our own sales channels,” he warned.

Beyond data ownership, Shark Binh also highlighted the significant shift in the global supply chain. As goods from China increasingly reach consumers directly, traditional resellers will face a slow death if they fail to adapt. He advised Vietnamese businesses to focus on researching and developing products with a unique Vietnamese identity and then outsource manufacturing anywhere, as long as they maintain control over quality and branding.

Finally, he emphasized the importance of investing in delivery capabilities to compete with cross-border logistics systems. Businesses should collaborate with professional delivery operators instead of handling logistics in a fragmented and uncontrolled manner. E-commerce is a race, and no one waits for the latecomers.