ASEAN e-commerce: economic challenges and prospects under trade agreements
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Electronic commerce in the ASEAN countries is currently one of the most dynamic sectors of the regional economy, with a projected market volume of approximately USD 300 billion by 2025, underscoring the relevance of research in the context of global digitalization and deepening regional integration. The rapid growth of the sector is driven by high internet penetration (78% of the population, over 500 million users in 2022) and was further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which added about 70 million new digital consumers to the region. At the same time, this process reveals significant structural challenges, including differences in legal regulation, risks in data protection and cybersecurity, limitations in logistics, as well as digital inequality, especially in Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia, where only about 27% of the population has internet access, while a gender gap persists. The study focuses on analyzing the economic challenges and prospects of electronic commerce in ASEAN through the lens of key agreements, such as the ASEAN E-Commerce Agreement of 2019, RCEP 2022, and DEFA, showing that these frameworks contribute to the harmonization of regulation, reduction of transaction costs, and market trust strengthening, despite persistent risks of dependence on foreign investments, tendencies toward platform monopolization, and tax disparities, which require enhanced regional cooperation to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth.
Source: Vestnik Universiteta
Author: Duy Chung Pham
Institution: State University of Management
Language: English
Subfield: Business and International Management
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7154996036