Russian firms to build automobiles in Vietnam

By Toan Dao March 22, 2016 | 04:36 am PT

Vietnam and Russia signed an agreement in Moscow on March 21 that will pave the way for Russian firms to produce automobiles in the Southeast Asian nation, Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a statement on Tuesday.

The pact is part of their efforts to realize the free trade agreement that Vietnam inked with the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union in May last year, according to the ministry. The EEU comprises Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Both the agreement and the Vietnam-EEU FTA will take effect in the middle of this year, the ministry said.

Russian companies, including GAZ Group, KAMAZ and Sollers, will set up joint ventures with Vietnamese partners to build trucks, cars with more than 10 seats, off-road vehicles and some specialized vehicles, the ministry added.

The joint ventures will also look to export their vehicles around Southeast Asia to take advantage of tax incentives for products from Vietnam, said the statement.