Compal Electronics aims to up production in Vietnam

Compal Electronics, a supplier to Apple, Amazon, and Dell, is scheduled to pay another visit to Vietnam in July to find a location for a new factory following a working trip in June.

The Taiwanese major’s move came amid the Southeast Asian country emerging as a destination for international electronics corporations, with Apple having recently moved some iPad production out of China to Vietnam.

On June 2, Compal executives visited Quang Ninh, which borders China, for that purpose. The northern province holds a strong position as an electronics manufacturing base with significant infrastructure improvement, close proximity to China as well as Hanoi and Hai Phong, Vietnam’s largest northern logistics hub.

The Compal mission surveyed DEEP C Quang Ninh, part of the DEEP C Industrial Zones cluster developed by Belgian group Ackermans-Van Haaren. DEEP C Quang Ninh in Quang Yen Coastal Economic Zone is being developed into a high-tech industrial complex integrated with internal port infrastructure and port services.

In addition to Quang Ninh, Compal is also seeking opportunities in the central province of Nghe An, about 300 kilometers south of Hanoi.

Compal is a key manufacturer of the iPad and Apple Watch, Google’s Pixel phone, and Amazon's Echo smart device. Its Taoyuan plant in Taiwan counts Dell as one of its major clients that hold government contracts to supply notebook computers.

Last year, Compal expanded its Vietnam production by adding more manufacturing capacity to its existing facility in Vinh Phuc province, a neighbor of Hanoi.

Vietnam has become a production base for global electronics makers like Intel, Samsung, LG, Foxconn, Goertek Luxshare, Winston, Pegatron, and BYD. Notably, Chinese company BYD has started assembling Apple tablets in the country.

Last November, Amkor Technology, Inc. a global semiconductor product packaging and test services provider, announced it would pour as much as $1.6 billion into Vietnam by 2035 to build a state-of-the-art facility in Bac Ninh province near Hanoi.

The smart plant will be an important part of the American corporation’s worldwide network. The facility will cover 23 hectares in Yen Phong 2C Industrial Park.

Bac Ninh province is home to a Samsung Electronics Vietnam facility, one of the two Samsung plants in Vietnam that make Samsung smartphones. The other smartphone factory is in Thai Nguyen province, also in the north. At present, about 60% of Samsung’s smartphones are made in Vietnam.