Russian truck maker to ask govt for $1 bln -paper

Russian truck maker Kamaz, a potential acquisition target for Germany's Daimler, will ask the state for $1 billion, in part to meet EU emissions standards, Kommersant reported on Friday.

Kamaz has said Russia's truck market could decline by 20 percent next year. It has moved to a four-day working week and started staff cuts of around 10 percent.

Citing information from the Kamaz plant in the central Russian region of Tatarstan, Kommersant said $452 million of the requested funding would help it bring its trucks in line with Euro-IV and Euro-V European union emissions standards.

Kommersant cited the company as saying $568 million would be needed to support a leasing scheme, though the government has not approved aid for leasing programmes under its $200 billion anti-crisis package.

The newspaper said the aid application had not been filed.

The truck maker's public relations department was not available for comment.

Much of the state aid promised to Russian industry is directed toward short-term debt refinancing. The government has said its aid priorities are retail, property development and banks.

Daimler, the world's biggest maker of commercial vehicles, was considering buying a stake of 42 percent in Kamaz and then building it up to a majority, a source familiar with the situation said in July.

Daimler said last month it would make a decision on expansion in Russia by the end of the year.

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