Vietnam to Get RJR Cigarettes

A pending joint venture would make R.J. Reynolds Tobacco International Inc. the first U.S. firm to make and sell its cigarette brands in Vietnam, a company spokeswoman said Sunday.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco International, a unit of RJR Nabisco Inc., planned to sign a $21.2-million joint venture agreement Sunday with officials in central Vietnam. Company spokeswoman Jan Fulton said she could not confirm that the agreement had been signed as planned.

The venture would establish a factory that would produce 3.3 billion cigarettes a year and a tobacco plantation of 9,900 acres, Fulton said.

R.J. Reynolds would own 70% of the new firm, to be called the R.J. Reynolds-Danang Joint Venture. Its partner, the Danang Cigarette Factory, will hold the remaining 30%. Final approval for the project must come from the State Committee For Cooperation and Investment.

Construction on a factory will begin in early 1995 if the joint venture is approved by the state committee by the end of the year, Fulton said.