2023: energy, electronics sectors shine bright as Vietnam attracts huge foreign investments

Energy and electronics sectors hogged the limelight as registered foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam reached $36.6 billion this year through December 20, up 32.1% year-on-year.

The mega projects and acquisitions that attracted foreign investors included LNG-fuelled power plants, production of semiconductors, camera modules, carbon fiber, biofiber and automobile tyres, as also banks and hospitals.

Japanese firm joins $1.99 bln LNG power plant project

A joint venture between Tokyo Gas, Kyuden International, and Truong Thanh Vietnam Group was handed an investment license to build a $1.99-billion LNG-to-power plant in the northern province of Thai Binh.

The joint venture received the investment certificates at the Vietnam-Japan Economic Forum held earlier this month in Tokyo. Present on the occasion was Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who was on a four day (December 15-18) visit to Japan.

The plant will cover 269.4 hectares and have two turbines with a combined capacity of 1,500 MW. The first turbine is scheduled to enter commercial operation in the last quarter of 2028 and the second one in the fourth quarter of 2029.

American energy AES firm invests in $1.4 bln LNG terminal

A joint venture between American energy firm AES Corporation and Petrovietnam subsidiary PV Gas was granted investment approval by Binh Thuan province in July for the $1.4 billion Son My LNG Terminal project.

The terminal, to be built by Son My LNG Terminal Project Company, will have an installed capacity of 450 TBtu and is expected to begin commercial operations in 2027, AES said.

In August, Binh Thuan authorities granted investment certificates to six investors in four projects within the LNG-to-power chain in the south-central Vietnam province. The chain, located at the Son My 1 Industrial Park, includes the Son My LNG Terminal project; Son My power center project, a project to connect the Son My power center to the national grid; and the Son My-Phu My gas pipeline project.

Japan’s SMBC acquires 15% VPBank stake for $1.5 bln

In October, Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) completed acquisition of a 15% stake Hanoi-based VPBank for $1.5 billion, making it the largest M&A deal in the Vietnamese banking system so far. The deal makes SMBC, Japan’s second-largest bank, a strategic shareholder of the Vietnamese bank.

The deal was part of the capital expansion plan that VPBank initiated in 2022. After the share sale, VPBank’s owner equity increased from VND103.5 trillion ($4.22 billion) to approximately VND140 trillion ($5.7 billion).

LG to invest $1 bln more in Hai Phong

LG Innotek’s 17.2-hectare factory at the Trang Due Industrial Park in Hai Phong city entered operation in September 2017 with an initial investment of over $1 billion and about 3,500 staff to produce camera modules. With the additional investment, the company will build a new plant to manufacture and export camera modules, employing another 2,600 people.

The company, the electronic component arm under South Korea’s giant LG, is scheduled to complete construction of the plant in the second half of 2024 and start commercial operations in 2025.

The additional $1 billion will double LG Innotek's investment in the northern coastal city to $2.05 billion.

Hyosung invests $540 million carbon fiber factory in Ba Ria-Vung Tau

In October, South Korean giant Hyosung received in-principle approval from Ba Ria-Vung Tau's industrial park authority to build a $540 million carbon fiber factory in the southern coastal province.

The 19.2-hectare project, located at the Phu My 2 Industrial Park, will have a first phase investment of $120 million, said Kim Kyung Hwan, CEO of Hyosung Vietnam Co. Ltd. This will be Hyosung’s first carbon fiber plant in Vietnam, he added.

In July, Hyosung Vietnam said it planned to invest $1 billion in a carbon fiber factory at the Phu My 2 Industrial Park, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. The investment in the initial phase would be about $160 million, the firm said, urging provincial authorities to support it in completing legal procedures.

In December, Hyosung said it planned to invest $720 million in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau for a biofiber factory. This is set to become the world’s first project to use raw sugar to manufacture biofiber, a material used for spandex fiber, the executive added.

Japan’s Aeon to invest $500 mln in two malls

Japanese retailer Aeon will invest $500 million in building two $250 million malls, one in the northern province of Bac Giang and another in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho. Two memoranda of understanding to this effect were signed between the Japanese firm and the two provinces under the auspices of the Vietnam-Japan Economic Forum held in Tokyo this month.

There are six Aeon Mall outlets in Vietnam: two each in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and one each in the southern province of Binh Duong and northern city of Hai Phong. Per its medium-term (2023-2025) plan, the company will open more outlets in Vietnam, including one in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue. Construction of Aeon Mall Hue began in February and a grand opening is planned in the second half of 2024.

The retailer has so far invested more than $1.18 billion in Vietnam, Aeon Group executive chairman Akio Yoshida said at a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Japan’s Hiroshima last May.

Chinese tiremaker Haohua to invest $500 mln in Binh Phuoc

China’s Shandong Haohua Tire has received an investment certificate to build a $500 million factory in the southeastern province of Binh Phuoc. Under the investment registration certificate granted in September, the firm will build a factory covering 43 hectares at the Minh Hung Sikico Industrial Park. Construction is set to begin in the first quarter of 20.

The plant’s annual output will include 2.4 million packs of steel radial tires and 12 million packs of half steel radial tires for trucks and other vehicles, with total output worth an estimated $770 million. The firm expects to employ 1,600 local people and 200 expatriates.

Once operational from the third quarter of 2025, the factory is set to consume nearly 120,421 tons of natural and synthesized rubber a year, including 96,506 tons sourced from Vietnam and the rest imported from China.

Singapore’s Thomson Medical to acquire Vietnam’s FV Hospital for $381 million

In July, the Singapore-headquartered Thomson Medical Group said it has agreed to buy France-backed FV Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for $381.4 million.

This is the biggest-ever hospital acquisition deal in Vietnam. “The deal highlights the growing significance of Vietnam’s burgeoning healthcare (industry),” the Singapore-listed company said.

Thomson Medical Group will pay about $359.6 million upfront and another $21.8 million should FV Hospital meet certain performance milestones, it said.

Far East Medical Vietnam Ltd., also understood as the FV Group, currently has over 1,600 staff, including more than 200 Vietnamese and expatriate doctors. It also operates, since 2013, an outpatient clinic known as FV Saigon Clinic at the heart of District 1, HCMC’s heart.

Hana Micron opens $600 mln semiconductor plant, northern Vietnam’s first

In September, South Korea’s Hana Micron Vina Co., Ltd inaugurated a semiconductor plant in Bac Giang province, the first of its kind in northern Vietnam.

The new project, located at the Van Trung Industrial Park, is the second Bac Giang-based factory run by Hana Micron Vina, which manufactures integrated circuit boards used for mobile phones and other smart electronic products. The first factory began operations in 2022.

Choi Chang Ho, chairman of the company, said Hana Micron Vina plans to increase its total investment to over $1 billion in 2025, generating annual revenues of $800 million and creating 4,000 jobs for Vietnamese workers.

Hana Micron Vina will be the number one production facility in Hana Micron Group's global business operations, and its personnel in Vietnam will account for 70% of its total workforce, he said, adding the company expects a revenue of $300 million this year.

American firm opens mega semiconductor facility in Bac Ninh

In October, U.S.-based Amkor Technology Inc., a leading provider of semiconductor packaging and test services, held a grand opening for its newest factory in Vietnam’s northern province of Bac Ninh.

The Vietnamese facility is Amkor’s most extensive facility, covering 57 acres (23.1 hectares) in Yen Phong 2C Industrial Park. Beginning with Advanced System in Package (SiP) and memory production, the factory will offer turnkey solutions, from design to electrical testing.

Amkor has committed $1.6 billion for the two phases of the project, including $520 million in the first phase, to develop the facility into Amkor’s most advanced, delivering next-generation semiconductor packaging capabilities.

According to the investment certificate granted to Amkor in December 2021, the factory will have an annual output of 600 million items a year, equivalent to 210 tons, in the first phase. The second phase will double that output.