HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam and Indonesia sought to boost cooperation in construction and property at a business forum in Hà Nội on Wednesday.

The event was organised by the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia and the Việt Nam Federation of Civil Engineering Association.

“The forum aims to improve cooperation between Indonesia and Việt Nam in construction and property businesses in an effort to promote wide opportunities and achieve the target of bilateral trade worth US$10 billion by 2020,” said Ibnu Hadi, Indonesian ambassador to Việt Nam.

According to him, bilateral trade between the two countries in 2017 saw an increase of 16.36 per cent to reach $6.50 million from $5.58 million in 2016. This two-way trade comprised $3.63 million worth of Indonesian exports to Việt Nam (an increase of 22.51 per cent), while Indonesian imports amounted to $2.61 million (an increase of 9.37 per cent).

With populations of more than 260 million and 96 million in 2017, respectively, Indonesia and Việt Nam are among the fastest growing economies in the world. With a gross domestic product rate of 5.17 per cent and 6.81 per cent, Indonesia’s and Việt Nam’s per capita income in 2017 were $3,859 and $2,385, respectively, Hadi said.

According to the embassy, Indonesia’s investment in Việt Nam during 2017 was valued at $45.84 million. Last year, Indonesia ranked 30th among investor countries in Việt Nam. Meanwhile, Việt Nam has invested in eight projects in Indonesia in mining, media and manufacture processing industry worth $51 million.

For Indonesia, the growth of the real estate sector is dependent on infrastructure, which is predicted to grow at 5.9 per cent every year between 2017 and 2026, outperforming the overall construction industry’s projected annual growth rate of 3.9 per cent. Both residential and non-residential sectors will benefit from Indonesia’s strong demographics and a high urbanisation rate of 53 per cent.

“Although the investment cooperation between the two countries is still relatively not as huge as with South Korea, Japan and Singapore, the inflow of Indonesian investment to Việt Nam continues to increase. Indonesian investors are starting to capitalise on the potential and market opportunities offered by Việt Nam,” Hadi said. — VNS