Sharp seeks new large-scale plant in Binh Duong

Sharp Corporation is gauging possibilities to build a new large-scale facility in Binh Duong province as part of the Japanese electronics giant’s production shift from China to Vietnam.

Sharp is operating two factories in the southern industrial province, located in the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) I and VSIP II, both developed by VSIP Ltd., a joint venture between Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries and Binh Duong-based Becamex, a leading Vietnamese developer of industrial and urban real estate.

Sharp Corp’s senior managing executive officer Yoshihiro Hashimoto, during his meeting with the provincial administration Saturday, said the giant was seeking investment opportunities in southern Vietnam in its plans for a production shift from China to disperse risks and diversify markets.

The new large-scale facility would produce electronics, high-tech components, smartphones, household appliances, as well as health products, he said.

Hashimoto asked provincial authorities for support in recommending a proper plant site, labor supply and to provide full road connectivity for the project. Sharp also wants to enjoy provincial incentives in terms of tax and construction costs. He said the company would soon submit the documents needed to apply for a high-tech products certificate for the project.

Binh Duong’s Standing Vice Chairman Mai Hung Dung told Hashimoto the provincial government would firstly support Sharp in achieving the high-tech products certificate.

Dung added the province has established 29 industrial parks with a total planning area of 12,663 hectares.

Sharp Corp in 2016 became a subsidiary of Hon Hai, better known as Foxconn - the world’s biggest electronics contract manufacturer and largest iPhone supplier. Foxconn currently employs about 60,000 workers in Vietnam, and will “substantially” increase the number in the next one to two years, Young Liu, CEO and chair of Foxconn, said this month, without adding specifics.

As a key assembly partner for Apple, Foxconn has been producing electronics in Vietnam for years. The Taiwanese corporation made its foray into Vietnam in 2007 and had invested $1.5 billion as of December 2020. In January last year, it injected another $270 million to expand its laptop and tablet assembly capacity in the country.

Vietnam is also home to production facilities operated by other Apple suppliers like Goertek Inc., Pegatron, Luxshare, and Wistron. Earlier this July, Japan’s Panasonic announced it would accelerate the expansion of its electrical construction materials business in Vietnam to up sales by approximately 3.5 times over the next decade, equivalent to a $365 million increase.

Panasonic said it would respond to growing demand on the housing and construction market in Vietnam based on its three main strategies of building a local product development system, strengthening local production capacity of wiring and indoor air quality devices, and proposing solutions across product categories through co-creation with local companies.