Vietnam's motorcycle ventures on a joyride
HANOI - Most motocycle joint ventures in Vietnam are reporting
increasingly strong profits.
Honda Vietnam has, up to June 30 this year, made an aggregate US$65.8
million profit while Suzuki Vietnam and GMN have each topped US$12
million and Viko Strade US$450,000. While VMEP, a fully
Taiwanese-owned manufacturer, has totalled an accumulative loss of
US$27 million since 1996, it has now turned the corner, making a US$1.4
million profit last year.
Only Yamaha Vietnam - which has been in the market for just three years
and has been unable yet to find a niche - is still in the red. It has
accumulated losses of US$4.8 million.
Almost all of the ventures have also reached high localization rates: VMEP
uses 63 percent local components, Honda and Suzuki between 52 and 61
percent, GMN 42 percent and Yamaha Vietnam 34 percent. However, the
prices of locally-made motorcycles remain high compared with those in
other Southeast Asian countries.
Vietnam has meanwhile attracted 52 foreign-invested projects, worth a
total of US$260 million, to manufacture parts for motorcycles. Of the
projects, 32 are wholly foreign-invested companies, two are joint ventures
and the remainder were formed under business cooperation contracts.
Most are medium and small-sized enterprises of Taiwan and Japan,
manufacturing exhausts, handlebars, frames, saddles, tires, shock
absorbers and batteries.
VMEP, a joint venture between Vietnam and Taiwan, has planned to
increase investment for its localization program from US$6 million at
present to US$15 million for the manufacture of whole engines in the
country by 2004.
Honda Vietnam, a joint venture between Honda Motor Co Ltd of Japan,
Asian Honda of Thailand and the Vietnam Engine and Agricultural
Machinery Corporation, has invested US$9 million in producing engine
parts in Vietnam.
Vietnam News Agency - September 11, 2001.
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