“Indonesia and Vietnam share several conditions that can help
enhance our economic relationship,” said Indonesian Ambassador Mayerfas
at a business conference organised in Hanoi on April 4.
He mentioned huge populations, economic growth, rising purchasing power
parity, geographical closeness and membership in ASEAN as potentials
for bilateral cooperation.
During the event, held by the
Vietnam Chamber of Commerce of Industry (VCCI) and the Indonesian
Embassy in Hanoi , Indonesian business representatives heard about
the host country’s investment policy as well as specific tax
regulations.
Vietnam has become a new destination for
Indonesian investors and several companies have been very active in
exploring opportunities and completing deals with Vietnamese companies,
the ambassador said.
He urged the Vietnamese business
community to explore Indonesia ’s investment and business climate and
learn about the opportunities the market holds for foreign investors.
“While Indonesia is becoming more attractive to foreign investors,
we sincerely look forward to Vietnamese entrepreneurs taking full
advantage of what Indonesia has offered, both in terms of business
and investment,” he said.
Bilateral trade and investment
between the two nations have developed significantly over the past
years, said head of VCCI’s International Relations Department Pham Quang
Thinh, who added that the two business communities could bring the
relationship to a higher level.
Dang Xuan Quang, deputy
head of the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment
Agency, emphasised the importance of accelerating the two nations’ ties
with a focus on speeding up trade and investment promotion and links
between the two private sectors.
Last year, two-way trade
turnover reached 4.6 billion USD, with Vietnamese rice, telephones and
electronic components (as well as other exports) contributing over 2.35
billion USD.
Vietnam imported more than 2.24 billion USD worth of goods from Indonesia , including paper, cooking oil and chemicals.
As of March, Indonesian investors had pumped 285 million USD into 34
projects in Vietnam . In turn, Vietnamese businesses had seven
projects in Indonesia worth 107 million USD.-VNA