Chinese giant BYD to add $184 mln investment in Vietnam

Chinese giant BYD, an Apple Inc. supplier, will invest an additional $183.7 million in its Vietnam electronics manufacturing facility in the northern province of Phu Tho's Phu Ha Industrial Park, local authorities announced Monday.

The second-phase investment includes $178.2 million for manufacturing graphic adapters and electronic components with ceramic, glass, and iron components; and $5.5 million for producing batteries for tablets and smartphones. The new investment is set to begin implementation later this month.

In the first phase, BYD's investment totaled $269 million and started operation in August 2022. In December 2021, BYD Vietnam was licensed to build tablets and optical prisms. This February, it received an adjusted license from Phu Tho officials to make chips, modules, 4G and 5G modems, and camera drones.

BYD, dubbed China’s Tesla, will expand its investment in Vietnam with plans to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) in the country for the market and others in Southeast Asia, BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu told a meeting with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha last Friday. He proposed the government facilitate BYD to complete investment procedures for the plans, which also include assembly work.

"Expanding to electric vehicle manufacturing will be a milestone for BYD’s new investment plans in Vietnam," Deputy PM Ha told Wang.

Vietnam's industrial production expanded by 0.5% year-on-year in April, but fell 1.8% in the first four months of the year amid weaker global demand, the General Statistics Office said. However, Phu Tho province moved in the opposite direction with growth of 9.3% in January-April, driven by a 25.9% increase in the mining sector, 9% in the manufacturing-processing sector, 22.4% in water management and wastewater treatment, and 5.6% in electricity production and distribution.

Registered foreign direct investment capital in Vietnam declined 17.9% to $8.88 billion in the first four months of 2023, while disbursed capital dropped 1.2% to $5.85 billion, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Phu Tho’s registered FDI capital was $39.97 million, up 21.2% year-on-year, including $4.7 million of newly registered capital, $33.99 million of additional capital to ongoing projects, and $1.28 million of capital contributions for stake acquisitions.