Samsung prepares for investment in central Vietnam

Samsung is doing homework for investing in Danang, central Vietnam's business hub, as the technology giant wants manufacture presence in all three parts of the country.

The Korean group's facilities currently include six factories in Ho Chi Minh City in the south and the northern provinces of Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen, one R&D center in Hanoi, and one sales subsidiary.

Samsung Vietnam's General Director Choi Joo Ho, during his talks with Danang leaders on Friday, said Samsung was looking for investment opportunities in the central economic hub.

Samsung Electronics and Viettel, Vietnam’s largest telecom operator, initiated 5G commercial trials in Danang last December. The two companies are testing Samsung’s advanced 5G solutions, including baseband units and the 64T64R Massive MIMO radio, to power Viettel’s commercial network. They aim to capitalize on the increasing number of mobile users in the country, where its 4G infrastructure has covered a majority of the population.

Choi said the partnership with Viettel, together with a Samsung Vietnam member’s initial investment in Danang’s hospitality at present, is paving the way for further investments in the time to come.

This preparation follows the additional $920 million injected into the Samsung Electro-Mechanics Vietnam (SEMV) project in Thai Nguyen in February, raising the factory's total investment to $2.27 billion. The facility mainly manufactures and assembles mainboards, flexible printed circuit boards (FBCB), components and spare parts such as camera modules, power adapters, touch sensor modules, and linear motors.

The heavyweight has channeled a total of over $19.2 billion into the Southeast Asia country, 28 times higher than its initial commitment. Samsung mobile phones made in Vietnam account for 50 per cent of the group’s global output.

It posted $74.2 billion in total global revenue in 2021, a 14% rise year-on-year. The group enjoyed double-digit growth in last year’s export value, which hit $65.5 billion, soaring 16%, according to its financial report. The main lines are mobile devices, home electronics, and semiconductor products.

Samsung Electronics said in February it relocated two smartphone production lines from Vietnam’s Thai Nguyen province to its Gumi plant in South Korea to better cope with disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group expects its $220 million R&D center in Hanoi, its largest in Southeast Asia, to open by end-2022 as construction has so far been over 60% complete. The facility will employ 3,000 engineers, focusing on R&D products, including technological developments such as 5G networks, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and Big Data, said Choi.

In the tech-savvy country, Samsung recently opened five new premium stores in HCMC and Hanoi. They follow the group’s high standards for design and safety, offering visitors an opportunity to test the latest Samsung mobile products, such as the Galaxy Tab A8 mid-range table, foldable devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 3, and wearables like the Galaxy Buds 2 and Galaxy Watch 4 series.