Samsung Electronics Co.’s unit in Ho Chi Minh City’s Saigon Hi-Tech Park has been allowed to add $841 million to its capital, totaling an investment of $2.84 billion.
Samsung Electronics HCMC CE Complex, often called SEHC, is Samsung Electronics Co.’s second-largest manufacturing site worldwide for TV screens and home electronics, after its largest in Mexico. SEHC started operations in 2016, one year after construction began.
Given Samsung's additional investment, Saigon Hi-Tech Park is now home to 163 projects with total capital of nearly $12.07 billion, including over $10.1 billion in foreign investment, the park’s management announced Monday.
Vietnam is Korean tech giant Samsung's main manufacturing base for smartphones and some other electronics. About 60% of Samsung smartphones are made in Vietnam, mostly in the northern provinces of Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen. Samsung Vietnam also operates one R&D center in Hanoi and one sales subsidiary.
Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker, injected $920 million into the Samsung Electro-Mechanics Vietnam project in Thai Nguyen this February, raising the factory’s total investment to $2.27 billion. The facility mainly manufactures and assembles mainboards, flexible printed circuit boards, components and spare parts like camera modules, power adapters, touch sensor modules, and linear motors.
Taking SHEC’s increased capital into account, the Korean giant has channeled a total of more than $20 billion into the Southeast Asia country, 28 times higher than its initial commitment.
The heavyweight expects its own $220 million R&D center in Hanoi, its largest in Southeast Asia, to open by end-2022, with construction 60% complete. The facility will employ 3,000 engineers, focusing on R&D products, including technological developments like 5G networks, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and Big Data.
The operational R&D center in Hanoi is part of Samsung Vietnam, while the one under construction is directly under Samsung Group.