640,000 multi-level marketing salespeople earn an average of 316,000 VND per month.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has just released a report on the multi-level marketing business situation in 2016. According to the report, since mid-2015, the Ministry has intensified its supervision and inspection of multi-level marketing activities nationwide to curb illegal multi-level marketing practices and ensure a healthy business environment for the industry.

On the other hand, the Ministry also directed the Competition Management Department to closely coordinate with relevant local agencies to strengthen supervision, inspection, and handling of violations of the law on multi-level marketing in localities.

To date, many businesses have been inspected, penalized, and had their multi-level marketing registration certificates revoked by state management agencies. The number of people participating in multi-level marketing has also decreased significantly compared to 2015.

The income of those participating in multi-level marketing is negligible.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, between the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, 67 businesses were granted certificates of registration for multi-level marketing activities.

By the end of March 2017, the number of multi-level marketing businesses had decreased by 30 to 37, a 45% reduction compared to the end of 2015. Of these, 15 businesses had their licenses revoked, 12 businesses voluntarily ceased operations, and 3 businesses temporarily suspended operations.

The total number of people participating in multi-level marketing schemes by the end of 2016 was 637,637, a decrease of 212,363 people (25%) compared to the end of 2015.

Total revenue from multi-level marketing in 2016 reached approximately 7,800 billion VND, a decrease of about 200 billion VND compared to 2015 (a 2.5% decrease).

Multi-level marketing revenue mainly comes from functional foods (59%) and cosmetics (24%). Revenue from household goods accounts for 6.6%, revenue from fashion clothing accounts for 2%, revenue from equipment accounts for 0.5%, and the remaining 8.2% is from other items.

The total amount of commissions and economic benefits paid by multi-level marketing companies to their participants reached approximately 2,400 billion VND, accounting for about 31% of the industry's total revenue.

The industry's after-tax profit reached only 177 billion VND, equivalent to 2.2% of revenue. Of the 37 businesses that submitted reports, only 11 achieved positive profits.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade stated that although the number of multi-level marketing businesses decreased sharply in 2016, and the number of people participating in multi-level marketing also decreased relatively significantly, the total revenue of the industry only decreased by about 200 billion VND. This shows that the public's reaction to illegal multi-level marketing practices had almost no impact on the overall revenue of the industry.

"The total amount of commissions and other economic benefits paid to participants in multi-level marketing reached approximately 2,400 billion VND. While this is a large sum in absolute value, if divided equally among nearly 640,000 participants, the average income of a multi-level marketing participant is negligible, only about 3.8 million VND/person/year, equivalent to only 316,000 VND/person/month. This shows that among the nearly 640,000 participants in multi-level marketing, only a small percentage are salespeople. The rest hardly participate in sales," the Ministry of Industry and Trade observed.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade also affirmed that the operational efficiency of multi-level marketing businesses is very low, with after-tax profits averaging only 2.2%, and over 50% of businesses reporting losses.

According to VnEconomy