Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The issuance of electronic commerce records has grown by 21% until the end of the second quarter of 2023, with 35,314 records, according to the Commerce Ministry's business sector bulletin.

Riyadh regions has come in the forefront as the highest region in terms of issuing the e-commerce records by 14,026, followed by Makkah with 9,080, then Al-Sharqiyah with 5,699, Al-Qassim 1,204, while Asir with 1,080.

This comes as a result from the Ministry's efforts to enhance the electronic commerce business system, being one of the Kingdom's Vision 2030's goals.

The electronic commerce has an important role in strengthening the national economy, especially since Saudi Arabia is one of the top 10 growing countries in the field of e-commerce with a percentage exceeding 32%.

The Ministry of Commerce is seeking to stimulate the electronic commerce market and increase reliability and confidence in its dealings, as well as protecting the dealer rights in a way that enhances the growth and contributes in achieving the Kingdom's Vision 2030.

The Ministry is working on 10 projects, which are considered high-priority for it during the current year, and the projects are divided into 6 laws and 4 regulations.

The laws are: the Consumer Protection Law, the Commercial Register Law, the Trademark Law, the Commercial Transactions Law, the Franchise Brokerage Law, and the and the regulations for establishing government companies.

The 4 regulations are the Family Companies Charter, the Corporate Governance Regulation, the Implementing Regulation for the Commercial Register Law, and the Implementing Regulation for the Trade Name Law.

This comes to achieve a leading location for the national trade sector in a fair and stimulating environment, as well as to enhance the capabilities of the commerce sector.

It also comes to protect the interests of beneficiaries through developing and setting of effective implementation policies and mechanisms that contribute to achieving sustainable economic development.

The Ministry aims to support the entrepreneurs that are wishing to switch from regular trade to e-commerce through the agencies that offer their services in terms of empowerment, e-payment, digital marketing, technical solutions, e-markets, logistical solutions, and platforms for developing e-stores.

The most prominent of these agencies is the E-Commerce Council of the ministry, which aims to enhance the reliability of e-commerce and increase its contribution in the national economy, as well as stimulating and developing the commercial activities in Saudi Arabia.

Electronic commerce is considered as an open market around the clock that saves time and effort for the online shopper to reach all the commodities and services with a variety of options in a transparent and highly competitive environment to gain consumer confidence.