Global EC Strategy Seminar

~ Seminar Report ~

On July 2, 2015, a seminar co-sponsored by CaN International, GVA Law Offices and our company was held at Shibuya Humax Building. This seminar was called the "Global EC Strategy Seminar" and was held for those who are considering business development overseas, including Southeast Asia, and those who are interested in the EC situation in Asia.

Seminar outline

Seminar Name

Global EC Strategy Seminar

Date and time

Thursday, July 2, 2015 14: 00-16: 00

Place

GMO Tokyo Shibuya Humax Shibuya Building 7th floor

Teacher

Part 1 GMO Payment Gateway, Inc. Global Business Strategy Office Yasuo Imoto

Part 2 GVA Law Offices Representative Attorney Toshi Yamamoto

Part 3 CaN International International Taxation Officer Yasushi Yamaoka

[Part 1] Asian EC situation and points of successful overseas expansion

GMO Payment Gateway, Inc. Global Business Strategy Office Yasuo Imoto

[Part 1] Asian EC situation and points of successful overseas expansion

In newspapers and television media these days, we see the words "cross-border" and "inbound" on a daily basis, but we actually receive many inquiries. In the first part, Imoto of our Global Business Strategy Office talked about the EC situation in Asia and the points of successful overseas expansion.

■ EC scale in Southeast Asia

EC scale in Southeast Asia

Among the global e-commerce markets, Southeast Asia is particularly remarkable for its growth.
Southeast Asia's retail e-commerce sales are currently 2.3 trillion. It has tripled in four years.

So why is the EC scale in Southeast Asia showing such rapid growth?
There are three points.

①人口ボーナスの規模が大きい
・東南アジアの人口は6億人以上(中国の約半分、米国の約2倍)

② Improvement of mobile / internet infrastructure environment
・ Mobile phone penetration rate: 112%
・ Internet penetration rate: 32% (the number of users is about 200 million)

(3) There is a lot of room for expansion of the EC market
・ EC penetration rate Top3 (6 countries average: 0.2%)
・ Singapore: 1.0%
・ Philippines: 0.3%
・ Malaysia / Thailand: 0.2%
(Reference China: 8.0%, US: 8.7%, Japan: 3.3%)
<Source: Financial Times Article, USB report>

Next, after explaining the size of the cross-border EC market between Japan, China, and the United States and what kind of products overseas consumers are purchasing on the Japanese EC site, what kind of service will we offer? I introduced if we can provide it.

■ Introduction of our service

Introduction of our service

Through the "GMO-PG Global Payment" service, we are currently supporting customers doing business overseas in five countries. In addition, we plan to add compatible countries as needed.

"GMO-PG Global Payment" provides the most used payment method in each country in collaboration with local businesses in each country. In addition payment systems, we also support customers who are trying to expand overseas from various fields through sales agency services and support for attracting customers.

As mentioned above, in the first part, I talked about the EC situation in Asia, the points of successful overseas expansion, and how we can support.

https://www.gmo-pg.com/

[Part 2] About "Global EC Legal Strategy"

Mr. Shun Yamamoto, Representative Lawyer of GVA Law Offices

[Part 2] About &quot;Global EC Legal Strategy&quot;

第二部ではベンチャーやIT企業のサポートを主にされているGVA法律事務所 代表弁護士 山本 俊氏から<グローバルEC法務戦略>につき、以下の3点に沿ってお話しいただいた。

  1. 1. Global EC Legal General
  2. 2. Cross-border trade dispute risk and its resolution
  3. 3. Regulations of each country at each stage of advancement

■ Legal risks that can occur in cross-border EC

Global EC is a sales contract in which the parties cross national borders. Along with this, problems that cannot occur in contract For example, "Japanese legal rules do not apply" and "the other party is too far away to solve the problem".

Taking the form of advancement in cross-border business (see below) as an example, "If you move to type B after grasping the top sellers in type A at the initial stage, you will need less permission procedures", etc. There was also advice.

■ Two specific forms of entry in cross-border business

A. A form of launching a website in Japan and selling it overseas
  • Benefits: Low initial cost
    • Possible risks:
    • ⇒Delivery trouble / payment collection trouble
      ⇒ Conflict risk peculiar to cross-border transactions
B. A form of establishing a local subsidiary overseas and selling locally on the local website
  • Benefits: Relatively easy to resolve in the event of an international dispute
  • Possible risks: ⇒ Must clear regulations on establishment and business

Next, he explained the outline of the rules of each country, taking Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia as examples.
Although each country has its own rules, what all three countries have in common is that "disputes brought about locally will be resolved locally." However, he also explained concretely what kind of harmful effects would occur if an international dispute occurred and how to resolve it.

If you are aiming for full-scale expansion of overseas services, it is desirable to "establish a local corporation" even if you pay a reasonable cost, but the most important thing is to "understand the local law firmly and prevent disputes. "It's about prevention," he added at the end.

http://gvalaw.jp/venture/

[Part 3] Tax practice in Southeast Asia

Mr. Yasushi Yamaoka, International Taxation Officer, CaN International

[Part 3] Tax practice in Southeast Asia

In the third part, Mr. Yasushi Yamaoka, in charge of International Taxation at CaN International, gave a lecture on <Tax Practice in Southeast Asia>.

■ Southeast Asia as a market

First of all, Mr. Yamaoka said, "In the past, most clients in Southeast Asia were in the manufacturing industry, but now there are a wide variety of industries and sizes. It is a market that can be expected to grow further in the future. After saying, "There is no doubt," he touched on the operating form of the EC site (see below) and points to keep in mind when establishing a local subsidiary and developing the company's EC site.

■ About the operation form of two types of EC sites

  • 1)
  • Opened a store in an existing EC mall
    ① Opening a store in a local EC mall
    (2) Opening a store in an existing local EC mall in Japan
  • 2)
  • Opened a store on our own EC site
    (1) Develop an in-house EC site for the local market from Japan
    (2) Establish a local subsidiary and develop its own EC site

Next, while giving a concrete case study on the tax costs incurred locally, "When selling wine in Taiwan, two tariffs, business tax and liquor tax, are levied, and in Indonesia, value-added tax and luxury goods sales tax are added. He explained in detail the tax costs of Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

It was understood that even in Asia, legal regulations, tariffs, and prohibited products are completely different depending on the country. Tax practice issues are inevitable when actually conducting cross-border business. I was impressed by the attitude of the participants listening enthusiastically from beginning to end.

http://www.caninternational.co/

■ Summary

In this seminar, the first part payment method in Southeast Asia, the second part will be about legal risks and solutions to be aware of when actually starting a business, and the third part will be about tax affairs in Southeast Asian countries. We were able to provide information on business practices and indispensable information when actually starting a cross-border EC business at once. Even after the seminar, many customers asked questions and consulted with the instructors individually, and the curtain was closed with great success.