Japan-headquartered Meiko Electronics broke ground on a factory last weekend to produce printed circuit boards (PCB) in the northern province of Hoa Binh, its fifth plant in Vietnam.
The Japanese company will invest VND4.66 trillion ($186.4 million) in the factory which covers 9.2 hectares in Bo Trai Song Da Industrial Park.
The total investment will be raised to $500 million when work on a second factory starts.
The factories will produce electronic circuits for peripheral devices, computers, electronic home appliances, audio-visual equipment, solar cells, microprocessor chips, and controllers.
Meiko plans to start a trial run in Q2 this year and employ up to 3,000 people by 2030. Operating at full capacity in 2030, the project is expected to pay some VND200 billion ($8 million) annually to the province.
Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony with the attendance of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Atsushi Sakate, executive vice chairman of Meiko Electronics Co., Ltd., said the firm made the decision to build the facility in Hoa Binh after PM Chinh pledged to ensure sufficient energy and green transition for foreign companies during his Japan visit in December.
Speaking at the event, Chinh thanked Meiko for its investments in Vietnam, which have amounted to over $1 billion over the past two decades. He also asked Hoa Binh authorities to facilitate more high-tech investments.
Established in 1975, Meiko Electronics Co., Ltd. now has five PCB plants in Japan, two in China, and branches worldwide. Its clients include Apple, Samsung, Panasonic, and Fuji Xerox.
It officially entered Vietnam in 2006 with a $300 million factory on the outskirts of Hanoi.
The firm launched operation of an electronics manufacturing services factory in Vietnam in April 2009. Its Vietnam PCB plant started operations in November 2011, and the third plant started up in July 2019.
In July 2014, it established Meiko Electronics Thang Long Co., Ltd on the premises of Panasonic Vietnam Co., Ltd.