Hanoi (VNA)𓆉 – The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has drafted a circular regulating the classification and management of commercial establishments.

The move aims to develop civilised and modern commercial establishments, facilitate the flow of goods, and help promote socio-economic development in line with the Prime Minister-approved strategy for developing domestic trade by 2030, with a vision to 2045. Statistics of the MoIT showed that the numbers of supermarkets and trade centres increased sharply to 1,167 and 254 in 2021, from 567 and 95 in 2010, respectively. Convenience stores have also been booming in recent years, helping to fuel the trading of goods. However, experts also pointed out that despite a surge in numbers, markets, supermarkets, trade centres, and convenience stores have concentrated in just urban areas while the existing legal framework has not kept pace with development. Vu Vinh Phu, a retail expert, said the only legal document covering the management of commercial establishments now is Decision 1371/QD-BTM, issued on September 24, 2004 by the Minister of Trade (now Minister of Industry and Trade), which stipulates rules on the management of commercial infrastructure. Most of this document’s contents are outdated. This is especially the case with regulations on convenience stores, which have grown strongly in just the last five years, he noted. The lack of a legal document on this type of distribution has hampered the formation of a strategy for developing convenience stores like in other countries, Phu added. The strategy on developing domestic trade by 2030, with a vision to 2045, targets that by 2030, consumer goods and service revenue traded via modern retail distribution channels will make up 38 - 42% of the total retail and consumer service revenue, compared to the current rate of about 25%. Driven by this strategy, commercial establishments are forecast to flourish in the time ahead. Therefore, it is also necessary for legal documents to keep up with this trend, according to President of the Association of Vietnamese Retailers Vu Thi Hau. Le Viet Nga, Deputy Director of the MoIT’s Domestic Market Department, said the MoIT will work with other ministries and sectors to develop commercial establishments in conformity with plans and strategies, while pressing on with overhauling mechanisms and policies to support commercial infrastructure development./.