Autopetro Exhibition to be Held in Hanoi

Autopetro Exhibition to be Held in Hanoi

The fifth Exhibition and Seminar on Transportation Means and Fuels, 'Autopetro 2004,' will be held in Hanoi from July 30 to August 3.

The exhibition will have a display area of 5,000 square metres for 70 Vietnamese and foreign enterprises, including famous trademarks, such as Isuzu, Suzuki, Kia Motor, Hyundai, Kamaz, Vinamotor, Samco, Truong Hai, Petrolimex, Vilexim, Yamaha and Piagio. This year's exhibition will also display new products, such as automobiles and buses with 25 to 45 seats, vehicles of special use in the environmental service, vehicles for heavy industrial use and light trucks. Deputy Minister of Industry Nguyen Xuan Chuan said that 'Autopetro 2004' will be an ideal environment for manufactures to develop their cooperation, investment, technology exchange and trade promotion. Within the exhibition's agenda, a seminar will be held on July 31 to discuss urgent issues relating to development orientation policies.

'Autopetro 2004' is organised at a time when the Vietnamese government is paying great attention to developing a suitable strategy for the Vietnamese automobile manufacturing and assembly industry. Recently, the government approved a master plan for the Vietnam automobile industry until 2010 and a vision for 2020. This is an important steppingstone in creating momentum for the automobile industry to develop more rapidly in the coming time.

According to Chuan, the Vietnamese government is exerting efforts to reduce tariffs in 2007 and cut tax on automobile manufacturing in 2010. The government also plans to build three more oil refinery plants alongside the Dung Quat oil refinery plant to meet the demand of the domestic market. Furthermore, the government is encouraging the development of projects on researching and applying new fuels, such as bio-fuels.

• Doan Phuong