Japan's Meiko Electronics lines up $200 mln factory in Hoa Binh province

Japan’s Meiko Electronics is looking to invest $200 million to build a factory in northern Vietnam's mountainous province of Hoa Binh.

Director and managing executive officer Atsushi Sakate made the proposal to Nguyen Phi Long, chief of Hoa Binh's Party Committee, at a meeting on Thursday. The firm, which designs and manufactures printed circuit boards (PCBs), plans to build the factory at the Bo Trai Song Da Industrial Park, covering 9.2 hectares, Sakate added.

Meiko has so far invested in three plants in Vietnam, with a total investment of $500 million, employing 7,000 people and contributing $30 million to the state budget annually, the executive said.

The three are located in the Thach That-Quoc Oai Industrial Zone and Thang Long Industrial Park in Hanoi, and Phuc Dien Industrial Zone in Hai Duong province, all in northern Vietnam.

On a global scale, Meiko recorded a net income of JPY8,800 million ($63.33 million) on net sales of JPY167,300 million ($1.2 billion) in fiscal year 2022, down 22.7% and up 10.6%, respectively, according to the firm’s financial results.

Long said his province would provide the best conditions for Meiko’s investment.

Registered foreign direct investment (FDI) capital in Vietnam declined 7.3% year-on-year to nearly $10.86 billion in the first five months of 2023, while disbursed capital dropped 0.8% to $7.56 billion, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

Of which, Hoa Binh’s figure was modest with $0.84 million of registered capital. As of May 20, Hoa Binh had attracted 51 FDI projects with total registered capital of $720.14 million, ranking 44th among Vietnam's 63 provinces and cities.