Throw to the south

Gazelles and KamAZ trucks will be assembled in South Africa

Russian manufacturers of industrial products are increasingly exploring foreign markets and are no longer limited to exports. The Gorky Automobile Plant and KamAZ are planning to assemble trucks in the Republic of South Africa (yesterday the Vremya Novostey newspaper wrote about similar plans in Brazil) . The projects will be supported by Vnesheconombank (VEB) within the framework of the government concept for the development of financial (guarantee) support for non-resource exports adopted in 2003. Yesterday, VEB signed a corresponding agreement with the South African company Russian Automotive Investments Southern Africa (RAISA).

According to First Deputy Chairman of VEB Nikolai Kosov, the bank is ready to open a credit line for these projects in the amount “what the partners need, everything will depend on how many vehicle kits will be supplied.” “I think we will be talking about several tens of millions of dollars a year,” he added. Funding will begin in October.

Deliveries will begin with Gazelles, since negotiations with the Kama plant have not been completed. For now, it is expected to assemble 10-12 thousand cars per year. And in two or three years, Mr. Kosov says, we will talk about the possibility of building a full-fledged automobile plant in South Africa to produce Russian trucks. And, perhaps, not only trucks. It is possible, said the deputy chairman of VEB, that in South Africa “some kind of small passenger car” will be assembled from Russian vehicle kits.

South Africa, as well as its neighboring Angola, Namibia, and Mozambique, are of interest not only to Russian automakers. Plans include the construction of railways, oil pipelines, and the development of diamond deposits and other natural resources. VEB is also ready to participate in such significant projects - by the way, it is the only Russian bank with a representative office in South Africa. “We have been working in this market for more than five years and are quite ready to assist our business in the successful development of various kinds of projects,” says Mr. Kosov.

Thus, yesterday VEB concluded another agreement providing for the creation of conditions for the implementation of promising investment projects in the mining and metallurgical industries of South Africa. The document was signed with Investment Partner AG, which is entrusted with the functions of a management company for projects of the Russian Renova group in the Republic of South Africa.

According to Nikolai Kosov, in general, the South African market is extremely promising. Russia cannot be satisfied with the current level of trade turnover with South Africa in the amount of approximately $150 million (however, the figure may be higher if we take into account supplies through third countries). “VEB is considering the possibility of opening a credit line of approximately $300 million in order to implement a large project in South Africa in the field of mining mineral resources,” said Mr. Kosov. In his opinion, the regular meeting of the intergovernmental commission on trade held yesterday -economic cooperation between Russia and Africa showed that in the coming years we can expect a breakthrough in bilateral economic relations, including in such high-tech areas as the aircraft industry and the space industry.

Mikhail VOROBYEV