Samsung to make Vietnam R&D center a global facility

Korean tech giant Samsung wants to turn its December-launched Vietnam R&D center with $220 million in investment into a leading global hub, Samsung Vietnam CEO Choi Joo Ho said Sunday.

It is the first mission, while the second is to help develop technology talent in Vietnam, Choi told a conference the Vietnamese government held to discuss development plans for the Red River Delta region.

To serve the goal of developing talent sources, Samsung will accelerate training by providing scholarships and internships for promising tech students and strengthening cooperation with universities in Vietnam, he said.

The Samsung Vietnam head added that the Korean giant continues to cement its cooperation with Vietnamese businesses, helping them develop and join the group’s global value chain, thus supporting the development of Vietnam’s manufacturing industry.

As of the end of 2022, the total number of Vietnam Tier-1 and Tier-2 suppliers in Samsung’s global supply chain was 257, a 10-fold increase against 2014, according to Samsung Vietnam.

Vietnam is already a production base for Samsung as well as other electronic multinationals like LG and suppliers for Apple, Google, Dell, Sony and the like. Samsung Electronics Executive chairman Lee Jae-yong in late December inaugurated the new Samsung R&D center in Hanoi, where around 3,000 researchers and engineers will work.

In Samsung’s long-term strategy, Vietnam is moving beyond its status as a significant global manufacturing base and evolving into a strategic R&D hub. More than half of Samsung smartphones are made in Vietnam.