HANOI, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam National Coal-Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) and its three partners from China, the United States and Japan to establish a joint venture on coal exploitation in northern Hung Yen province, local newspaper Vietnam News reported Wednesday.

    Under an agreement reached Tuesday, state-owned Vinacomin, together with China's CMC Import-Export Corporation, U.S.-based Bantry Bay Ventures and Japan's Marubeni Joint Venture will set up the joint venture to tap three coal mines with estimated annual output of 9 million tons.

    The joint venture will begin to exploit the mines in 2012, said the Vinacomin.

    Vietnam exported over 4.7 million tons of coal valued at 220 million U.S. dollars in the first quarter of this year, year-on-year decreases of 41.1 percent and 10.7 percent respectively, according to the country's General Statistics Office.

    The country shipped abroad nearly 32.6 million tons of coal valued at one billion dollars in 2007, posting year-on-year respective rises of 11 percent and 11.3 percent.