On your bike

TOKYO: Yamaha has received permission from the Vietnamese government to establish a joint venture to produce and market motorcycles in that country, the company announced.

Yamaha Motor will become the third Japanese company to enter the Vietnamese motorcycle market, following in the footsteps of Suzuki and Honda.

The company, which plans to begin production in Vietnam in the summer of 1999, is targeting annual output of 15,000 bikes by 2000 and 100,000 by 2005.