Samsung Electronics sets sights on Vietnam as strategic R&D hub

Samsung Electronics inaugurated its largest Southeast Asia research and development center in Hanoi on Friday, meaning an elevation of the importance of Vietnam not only as a manufacturing hub but also a center for research activities.

On the 11,603 square meters of land, the 16-story facility has a floor area of 79,511 square meters where 2,200 researchers will carry out projects for mobile devices, network communication technologies, and software, according to the Korean tech giant.

In Samsung Group’s long-term strategy, Vietnam is moving beyond its status as a significant global manufacturing base and evolving into a strategic R&D hub.

"I expect the R&D center to contribute to Vietnam's industrial competitiveness and to the relationship between South Korea and Vietnam," Samsung Electronics executive chairman Lee Jae-yong said at the opening ceremony in Hanoi.

The major event was attended by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Science and Technology Minister Huynh Thanh Dat, and senior Samsung executives, including Roh Tae-moon, president and head of mobile business at Samsung Electronics, and Choi Joo-sun, president and CEO of Samsung Display.

The Vietnamese PM said he wished Samsung would continue to expand investment and business activities in the country, and turn the new Hanoi facility into a leading research center in Southeast Asia and the world.

The PM pledged to create favorable conditions for the giant’s business projects in Vietnam, an emerging destination for international electronics manufacturers.

Samsung made inroads into Vietnam as early as 1989, when Samsung Group’s construction unit Samsung C&T set up an office here. Samsung Electronics then established its Vietnam office in Ho Chi Minh City in 1995.

Samsung Vietnam also has an operational R&D center, also located in Hanoi. The newest center, worth $220 million, is directly under the parent Samsung Electronics.

In Vietnam, Samsung Electronics is operating smartphone, TV, display panel, and home appliances factories in HCMC, and the northern provinces of Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen.

The country’s Samsung smartphone factories are responsible for producing almost half of the company’s Galaxy smartphones.

Since establishing a mobile phone manufacturing plant in Bac Ninh in 2008, Samsung has been more aggressively investing in Vietnam. To date, it has invested $18 billion in the Southeast Asian country to become the largest single foreign investor here, and has plans to add $2 billion in the time to come.