Temu’s Southeast Asian foray runs into hurdle in Vietnam after Indonesia ban

The budget-shopping platform, which is legally domiciled in Boston, is applying for formal approval to operate in Vietnam, after its recent launch in the country raised regulatory compliance questions, according to local media outlet Vietnam Net.

Temu debuted in Vietnam early in October, wooing shoppers with perks that included up to 90 per cent discounts and referral bonuses. Soon after, Vietnam’s industry and trade ministry warned consumers against buying on unregistered platforms, citing concerns over the quality of cheap products being offered, local news outlet Lao Dong reported.

Vietnam has a legal basis to punish unregistered online shopping platforms, and it has fined those that failed to abide by regulations, Nguyen Van Thanh, director of the ministry’s Centre for E-commerce Development, was quoted as saying.