Automotive JVs with foreigners must still be Russian-controlled - Manturov

VLADIVOSTOK. Sept 15 (Interfax) - Russian shareholders retaining control is still one of the main conditions for the creation of joint ventures in the automotive industry with foreign investors, including ones from China, Deputy Prime Minister and Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov told reporters.

Asked about possible formats for cooperation in the auto industry with Chinese partners, Manturov remarked that "cooperation with China is developing now, including in regard to automobile industry projects."

"The format of cooperation is determined depending on the specifics of the project, but we take a careful approach to the conditions of such partnership. In line with the action plan of the approved strategy for the development of the auto industry to 2035, conditions have been established for foreign investors' participation in industry investment projects. One of the main conditions is that in the case of joint ventures created in Russia, control over such ventures must remain with Russian beneficiaries," Manturov said.

At the end of 2022, Manturov said that one of the mandatory requirements for joint ventures in the auto industry, including plants that make auto parts, must be that Russian participants retain a controlling interest in the venture and the right to use the manufacturing technology.

"The requirements for the participation of foreign partners in the production of components will be adjusted. We are referring to the creation of joint ventures with a controlling stake and intellectual property rights on the Russian side," Manturov said during a report on the development strategy for the automobile industry at a meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in December.

Manturov met with Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing at the Eastern Economic Forum earlier this week. They discussed cooperation in the aircraft and auto industries, as well as shipbuilding, Russia's Industry Ministry reported.