HO CHI MINH CITY, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- APEC O2O Forum took place on Sunday in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, discussing ways of facilitating small and medium enterprises (SMEs)' access to global markets through online-to-offline (O2O) business models.
At the forum, delegates from members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) analyzed opportunities and challenges SMEs should pay attention to when participating in global markets with the help of digital technology as well as the threat from network security issues.
The delegates touched upon an APEC-funded project named "New Era of Growth for APEC SMEs through O2O Business Models," which aims to promote enterprises' access to global markets through O2O business models and best practices, and pave the way for a new era of growth by making trading across borders faster, cheaper and easier for them in the Asia-Pacific region.
The project will set up an APEC SME O2O expert network and publish a comprehensive APEC SME digital competitiveness and resilience guidebook.
According to the APEC Secretariat, SMEs, which represent over 97 percent of all enterprises and employ over half of the workforce across APEC economies, contribute significantly to economic growth.
A single purchase
