Samsung Vietnam targets 10% export revenue growth with AI-powered phones

Samsung Vietnam is targeting a 10% growth in export revenues this year, with its new product - artificial intelligence (AI)-powered phones - positively welcomed in the world, says CEO Choi Joo Ho.

At a Wednesday meeting with Vietnam’s Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc, Ho said Samsung sought to continue its partnership with the ministry and the Vietnamese government towards achieving sustainable development.

In 2023, Samsung Vietnam’s export revenues dropped to $55.7 billion as the Ukraine-Russia conflict impacted the global phone market, Choi Joo Ho said.

The company disbursed investments of $2 billion last year, raising its total investment in the country to $22 billion, he added.

Phoc said his ministry was committed to facilitating activities of foreign investors in Vietnam, especially Samsung. He said he will lead a delegation from his ministry to South Korea later this month, aiming to promote further foreign investments in the country. The trip will include high level meetings with Samsung’s leadership and a visit to Samsung's high-tech center in Suwon.

The two sides discussed some taxation issues, including Samsung’s queries on preferential tax policies and value-added tax (VAT) refunds.

Four Vietnamese subsidiaries of South Korean giant Samsung Electronics reported revenues of KRW81,146.7 billion ($60.83 billion) in 2023, down 11.83% year-on-year; and after-tax profits of KRW5,263.1 billion ($3.95 billion), down 13.09%.

Globally, Samsung Electronics earned post-tax profits of $11.86 billion last year, down 72.2% year-on-year, while its revenue fell 14.3% to $198.25 billion.

Its four Vietnam factories accounted for 31.3% and 34% of Samsung Electronics’s global sales and post-tax profits, respectively.

In November 2023, Samsung Electronics president and CFO Hark Kyu Park urged the Vietnamese government and legislature to come up with solutions related to the global minimum tax (GMT).