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Forum held for Indonesia links
A business forum held on Friday in HCM City offered a chance to Vietnamese and Indonesian businesses to expand bilateral co-operation.
Opening the forum organised by the Indonesian Embassy, Ambassador Pitono Purnomo said: "We have yet to tap the full potential of our bilateral trade and need to work harder to promote it."
He said he hoped ties between the two countries would strengthen even further in the years to come.
Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang agreed, saying the forum "will present an opportunity for the business communities in the two countries to exchange ideas and agreements on investment and trade co-operation."
Indonesia is now among Viet Nam’s major trading partners in the ASEAN bloc besides ranking 32nd out of 86 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam.
There are 14 Indonesian-invested projects with a total investment of $170 million in the country. Some have proven very successful, like the Horizon Hotel in Ha Noi and coal mining operations in Uong Bi Town in the northern province of Quang Ninh.
Viet Nam is now considering several projects in Indonesia, particularly in the petroleum sector.
Trade between Indonesia and Viet Nam topped US$2.4 billion last year, 1.75 per cent up from the previous year, with average annual growth in the 2004-08 period being 27.8 per cent.
Indonesia’s exports to Viet Nam excluding petroleum and natural gas was worth $1.67 billion, mainly comprising palm oil and fraction, iron and steel, paper and paperboard, refined copper and alloy, synthetic filament yarn and motor vehicles, among others.
Its imports excluding petroleum and natural gas, valued at $0.57 million, included rice, printing machinery, coal, leather, onion, shallot, garlic and leek.
The minister said he hoped the two business communities would take bilateral co-operation to higher levels.
Indonesian Minister of Trade Mari Elka Pangestu said in terms of opportunities for bilateral trade and investment, Indonesia’s creative sectors offered promise.
"They include fashion, IT, architecture and design, which are the supported by the government and have had a great impact on society."
Indonesia was also planning major expansion in infrastructure and resource-based sectors as well as to increase manufacturing industries’ competitiveness and value-addition, she said while calling on Vietnamese businesses to join the 24th Trade Expo Indonesia from October 28 to November 1.
Corporate concerns
A HCM City business executive said he wanted more information about the exchange rates between the dong and Indonesia’s rupiah.
Chairman Hoang said: "The unavailability of the currency exchange rate information between the two countries is due primarily to Viet Nam’s modest bilateral trade with Indonesia compared to Singapore or Thailand."
He also said this was partly because the dong and rupiah were not convertible, which means a dependence on the Singaporean or US dollar.
But he said the situation should not be a barrier to promoting bilateral trade.
Nguyen Hong Quang, an executive at a State-owned company in Dong Nai Province, wondered if he could expand his business in Indonesia.
Pangestu said the corporate tax rate was coming down in her country and economic zones were set to offer more incentives to promising sectors like agricultural and aquaculture processing.
VietNamNet, vietnamnews
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