On behalf of ASEAN Economic Ministers, it is my great joy to extend the warmest congratulation to the organizer, the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on E-commerce (ACCEC), official sponsors, e-marketplace providers, business participants, and the ASEAN Secretariat for tremendous efforts for the launching of the ASEAN Online Sale Day 2020 on the 8th August 2020 at www.aseanonlinesaleday.com. This marks the first time ever, an on-line special promotion campaign would be collectively conducted in all ten (10) ASEAN countries through just a “click for prosperity”. Among many activities to commemorate the ASEAN Day will be conducted throughout the region this year, the ASEAN Online Sale Day (AOSD) is among of the most impactful initiatives that help million businesses, especially micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) and consumers to get closer to the core value of the ASEAN Community and the digital transformation.
Since the last decades, digital economy has been emerging as the most promising area to sustain the dynamic growth of ASEAN economies. It is estimated that the value of e-commerce sector in ASEAN is expected to triple from US$100bn to US$300bn for a period of 2015 to 2025 thanks to the large base of nearly 350 million internet users in the region and the accelerating pace of digital technologies. E-commerce is the key driver for the digital transformation and unlock the potential of the digital economy. I am so delighted that the ACCEC are playing an increasing role to coordinate efforts across many sectoral bodies to explore cross-border e-commerce initiatives, including the AOSD.
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, digital technologies offer excellent alternative solutions to compensate for social distancing rules and becomes part of the new normal for sustainable recovery in ASEAN. The AOSD highlights ASEAN’s determination to strengthen its solidarity and the ability to effectively combat COVID-19. With respect to many consumers, AOSD is the special opportunity to access to high quality products and services at reasonable prices offered by reliable e-marketplaces. For our MSMEs who are the cornerstone of the regional economy, AOSD is a renewed commitment of ASEAN governments to the establishment of fully-functioned, conducive and secured digital environment to enable MSMEs to effectively reach out to larger potential markets of consumers and suppliers. In this regard, I strongly urge ACCEC to continue to organize the AOSD annually as an official event to celebrate the achievement of ASEAN on the path toward the regional digital economy.
On that note, I wish the AOSD a big success!
H.E. Tran Tuan Anh
AEM Chair, ASEAN 2020