Samsung Display's investment the biggest FDI project licensed in Vietnam in 2024

Samsung Display Vietnam's (SDV) $1.8 billion project in the northern province of Bac Ninh is the biggest foreign-invested project licensed in Vietnam in 2024.

SDV and Bac Ninh authorities signed an MoU for the move in September. In November, the project received the investment registration certificate.

The investment aims to manufacture OLED (organic light-emitting diode) products for information technology (IT) equipment and vehicles in Vietnam. The company already makes OLED products for mobile phones in the country, according to Choi Joo Ho, general director of Samsung Vietnam.

Projects of Amkor, LG, Chery and Hyosung were other highlights of 2024.

Amkor invests $1.1 bln more in making chips

In October 2023, the U.S.-based Amkor Technology Inc., a leading provider of semiconductor packaging and test services, launched its $520 million factory in Bac Ninh province.

In July, Amkor received a certificate for additional investment of $1.07 billion. This is 11 years earlier than its original plan of investing $1.6 billion by 2035.

The factory has two phases with an annual output of 600 million and 1.2 billion items, equivalent to 210 tons and 420 tons, respectively. Its first phase is now operational at 70% of its annual capacity. The second phase is installing machines, towards full operations from September 2025.

LG invests an extra $1 billion

In November, LG Display, under South Korea’s chaebol LG, was licensed to invest an additional $1 billion in Vietnam’s northern coastal city of Hai Phong. The addition would scale up LG Display's investment in the locality to $5.65 billion.

The project, one of LG’s biggest investments in Vietnam, has a monthly output of 14 million OLED displays.

LG Display started investing in Hai Phong in 2016 with an initial amount of $1.5 billion. Prior to the latest investment, the project employs 22,000 people, earns an export turnover of $5.8 billion yearly, and pays VND1 trillion ($39.39 million) to the state budget a year.

Chinese automaker Chery invests $800 million

In April 2024, Geleximco and Omoda & Jaecoo Automobile, a subsidiary of Chery Automobile, signed an agreement to set up a joint venture for a plant that can produce 200,000 vehicles a year, under Omoda & Jaecoo brand.

In October 2024, China's state-owned automaker Chery Automobile received an investment registration certificate to pour $800 million into Vietnam’s northern province of Thai Binh.

During factory construction, Chery’s automobile brand Omoda & Jaeco will approach the Vietnamese market by delivering completely built-up (CBU) units from Indonesia. The first product is Omoda C5 with a target of reaching Vietnam later this year.

The $220 million first phase of the three-phase project is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2026, at which stage it will have an annual output of 50,000 units.

The second, $200 million phase will increase the plant’s annual output to 100,000 vehicles in the 2031-2033 period. The final $380 million phase is envisaged to increase annual production to 200,000 units in the 2034-2035 period.

South Korea Hyosung pours $730 million more

In March 2024, Hyosung Dong Nai Co., Ltd., under South Korean chaebol Hyosung, received an investment registration certificate to invest $730 million in Vietnam's southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. The investment aims to build a bio-based (1,4 Butanediol) BDO production plant in Phu My 2 Industrial Park.

1,4-Butanediol (BDO) is an important compound that is used as a starting material for the production of important polymers.

Prior to the latest commitment, Hyosung had invested $4 billion in Vietnam with over 10,000 employees, making the chaebol the third-largest South Korean investor in Vietnam.

In the coming years, Vietnam is set to receive massive FDI projects as global giants have already pledged to invest in the country.

In December, the Vietnamese government secured a landmark partnership with Nvidia, leading to the signing of an agreement to jointly establish an AI R&D center and an AI data center in Vietnam. Nvidia also plans to invest billions of USD into the country soon.

In October, Hyosung chairman Cho Hyun-joon said the firm plans to invest an additional $4 billion in Vietnam as the South Korean chaebol commits to long-term engagement in the Southeast Asian country.

The upcoming investments can create 10,000 jobs in Vietnam and make major contributions to the nation’s socioeconomic development, he said. They will include data centers, materials for high-tech industries, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and carbon fiber, he added.

In September, U.S.-based SpaceX, a provider of spacecraft, satellite launch services, and satellite communications, said it would invest up to $1.5 billion in Vietnam, facilitating the nation’s digital growth.

In October, Thailand's Siam Cement Group (SCG) stated that it would invest an extra $700 million in the $5.2 billion Long Son Petrochemicals Complex (LSP) in Vietnam to diversify its production.

In the same month, Vietnam’s leading industrial park developer Kinh Bac City (KBC) and The Trump Organization owned by Donald Trump said they would jointly build a $1.5-billion five-star golf-hotel complex in Vietnam.

The complex will feature a 54-hole golf course, housing areas and villas built to the top standard of The Trump Organization, serving premium events and tournaments.