With people wanting to stay at home amid the COVID-19 outbreak, apps like Be and Grab are piloting new services in Ho Chi Minh City to help them buy more and more things without leaving home.

Local tech platforms and startups aim to take on the world but doing so won't be easy.

Such trend would help better meet transportation needs at more affordable prices, ensuring convenience, safety and improving service quality of both taxis and electronic-contract based vehicles, stated Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

App-based ride-hailing vehicles may be managed by technology, instead of having to install a light box on top as proposed by the Ministry of Transport (MoT) earlier.

Bonus payments for ride-hailing drivers seem a lot less forthcoming now that the firms have gained a firmer foothold in Vietnam. Comparing Grab, Go-Viet, and newcomer Be, the Singaporean giant seems the most tight-fisted.

The void created by Uber after leaving the e-hailing market has been quickly filled with newcomers, both foreign and domestic, including the latest, a 100 percent Vietnamese app called BE.