THE e-commerce race is on. In order to catch up with more advanced members of ASEAN, Myanmar has to rapidly develop its communications, legal and banking systems, its infrastructure and the way it does business, experts say.

ASEAN aims to become like the European Union, a unified trading bloc with a sound monetary policy competing efficiently in the world arena. The recent ratification of the ASEAN charter is a stepping-stone towards this goal, and signing it commits member governments – including Myanmar – to take serious action.

The objective is the establishment of the ASEAN Free Trade Area in 2015. But in order to for that to happen, Myanmar and some other ASEAN members have to take some crucial steps.

What does Myanmar have to do, and how far has it gone in this direction?
The ASEAN charter identifies three pillars – the economic community, cultural society and security. The key to setting up these three pillars is the development of information and communication technology (ICT).

To help achieve this, ASEAN has drawn up an ICT master plan, with two major goals: to narrow the gap between the more and less advanced ASEAN members, and to attract international investors into the region by offering services of consistently high quality.

This means that in the next five or six years, Myanmar has to approach the technological level of Singapore and Malaysia.

Experts from Myanmar’s leading trade body, the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) agree that many fundamental changes are needed in banking, logistics, ICT and legal sectors and in monetary policy to achieve uniformity with the rest of the ASEAN partners when practising e-commerce.

U Thaung Tin, president of the Myanmar Computer Federation and also vice-president of UMFCCI, told The Myanmar Times that Myanmar is halfway to achieving full-scale e-commerce.

“If we divide the approach to achieving parity in e-commerce into four phases, we are now in the second phase,” he said.

The first phase is the use of websites by businesses to advertise, and by customers to order goods and services over the internet. Myanmar has reached this stage. Then comes door-to-door delivery of goods and services ordered over the internet. Some Myanmar companies have introduced this system, including City Mart Chain Stores and some others.

However, completion of this phase also requires a system for the settlement of disputes between buyers and sellers in electronic trades through the adjustment of the legal system. “We need to draw up the necessary laws and regulations, set up the courts and appoint judges familiar with ICT,” said U Thaung Tin.

“We need a consumer protection act, which the authorities are now preparing to draw up. And we need digital certificates to guarantee authenticity. The Ministry of Post and Telecommunication is now working on internationally recognised digital certificates in preparation for future e-commerce,” he added.

A further requirement for the second phase is a regional uniform coding system for commodities. ASEAN is now working on the ASEAN Harmonised Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN) to ensure the uniformity of tradable commodity items among its member nations.

To enter the third phase of e-commerce, a country needs efficient logistics – which would require Myanmar to improve its physical and communications infrastructure.

“Easy access to telephones and internet facilities plays a vital role in the development of electronic commerce. So we have to liberalise these sectors. Cambodia and Vietnam privatised these sectors to stimulate efficient electronic commerce in preparation for 2015. We can take this as an example,” a senior economist of UMFCCI commented.

The final phase or key requirement in e-commerce is an efficient banking system (electronic banking), the computer association president said.

“There is a fundamental need to adapt our banking system to enhance transactions between buyers and sellers at home and abroad. We need to practise electronic banking which is easy and timely,” said U Thaung Tin, adding that this would take time.