SEOUL, South Korea: South Korean media has reported that Hyundai Motor is in talks with a Kazakh company for the purchase of its manufacturing plant in Russia.

Since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022, and amid subsequent sanctions and the exodus of Western companies, many factories in Russia have suspended production and furloughed workers due to shortages of high-tech equipment.

Citing a TASS news story, Yonhap news agency reported that the local government in St. Petersburg has been negotiating with Kazakhstan to sell Hyundai's Russian plant.

The negotiations to sell Hyundai's plant in St. Petersburg to an auto-related company in Astana, Kazakhstan are in the final stage, and the agreement could be signed as early as June, Yonhap added.

In March 2022, Hyundai suspended its operations at its factory in Russia.