The British group BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (BAT), the world's second largest cigarette manufacturer, is to fount a joint-venture with the state-owned Vietnamese company VIETNAM NATIONAL TOBACCO CORPORATION (VINATABA). The new company will be called BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO-VINATABA. Investments of some US$ 40 million are expected, notably in the building of a tobacco leaf treatment plant in the Province of Dong Nai. VINATABA has a 57% share on the market in Vietnam, against BAT's 12%.