Legal pressures in Vietnam may push Temu to mull a pivot, compete directly with Shopee

[HO CHI MINH CITY] Cross-border shopping platform Temu is feeling the heat in Vietnam from regulatory hurdles, backlash from local sellers and higher taxes, and may have to pivot from its direct-from-China supply-chain model.

One of its options is to adopt the marketplace model it is rolling out in its largest market, the US, which could put the Chinese e-commerce giant in more direct competition with South-east Asia’s leading e-commerce player, Shopee.

Hanoi suspended Temu’s operations in Vietnam over registration issues a mere month after its debut in October, in its drive to step up scrutiny of local operators of foreign e-commerce platforms.