Vietnam 'darling' of global electronics giants

Continual business expansion among major foreign electronics manufacturers in Vietnam are fueling industry development and luring new capital sources.

Previously known as a center for manufacturing garments and shoes, the tech-savvy country has emerged as a leading hub for electronics manufacturing in Southeast Asia. It is now home to facilities of Samsung, LG, Intel, Amkor Technology, Panasonic, Canon, Foxconn, Pegatron, Goertek, Luxshare, Wistron, Foster Electric, among others.

Key export earner

In the first three months of the year, Vietnam’s exports of electronic products, computers and components expanded 10.1% year-on-year to $13.2 billion, accounting for 14.9% of the country’s total export value, according to the General Statistics Office. The key buyers remained the EU, the U.S. and China, with the value from shipments to the U.S. soaring 17.2% to almost $3 billion.

Official data showed Vietnam in 2021 posted a total export value of $50.83 billion from electronic products, computers and components, increasing 14% year-on-year and accounting for over 15% of the country’s total export revenue.

Korean duo

Samsung Vietnam now operates six production facilities in Bac Ninh, Thai Nguyen in the north and Ho Chi Minh City in the south, a research and development (R&D) center and a sales entity in Hanoi. It is mulling over investments in Da Nang city, central Vietnam’s economic hub.

“The country is planned to be a key production hub and a strategic center for research and development of Samsung,” Samsung Vietnam CEO Choi Joo Ho said.

In Thai Nguyen, Samsung Group is investing another $920 million in the Samsung Electro-Mechanics Vietnam Company facility, raising its total investment in the plant to $2.27 billion. By the end of 2021, Samsung Vietnam’s total accumulated investment capital had reached $18 billion (not including this $920 million), equal to 102% of the investment capital approved by the group for Vietnam as of 2020.

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. The Korean tech giant plans to launch its own $220 million R&D center, not a Samsung Vietnam facility, in Hanoi by the end of this year, concentrating on emerging global technological trends like AI, big data, and Internet of things.

LG Group, its Korean peer, selected Hai Phong as its strategic spot in Vietnam. The major industrial and port city, about two hours’ drive east of Hanoi, is home to three companies under the LG roof. LG Electronics Vietnam Hai Phong focuses on electronics, LG Innotek Vietnam Hai Phong supplies electronic components, while LG Display Vietnam Hai Phong manufactures LCD and OLED displays. The last received another $1.4 billion investment last August, bringing the total capital for the facility to $4.65 billion.

LG Display Vietnam Hai Phong's CEO SuK Myung said at a ceremony held to receive the certificate for the additional investment that his company was committed to making efforts to soon put the project into full operation.

Manufacturers for Apple

Also in Hai Phong, Taiwan-based Pegatron, a supplier of Apple, Microsoft and Sony, got a license in February to build a $68.3 million housing project in the Dinh Vu-Cat Hai Economic Zone for its workers. It is designed to accommodate 10,000 employees.

At the same time, Universal Scientific Industrial Vietnam Co., a unit of leading Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer ASE Technology, was permitted to build a $18.34 million housing project for 4,000 workers in the zone.

Pegatron in September 2020 announced its plans to invest $1 billion in three hi-tech product plants at the Nam Dinh Vu Industrial Park in Hai Phong to make computers, electronic devices, communications equipment, electronic components and circuit boards for global tech giants. The first plant is already operational.

Similarly, Universal Scientific Industrial Vietnam of ASE started production at its $200 million facility in Hai Phong last September.

Currently, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is considering a five-year senior loan of up to $700 million, with a one-year grace period, to two Vietnamese subsidiaries of Chinese electronics components maker Goertek Inc. The World Bank's investment arm said it had earlier proposed the loan for the expansion of an existing production base of Goertek in Bac Ninh province, next to Hanoi, and a facility under construction in the central province of Nghe An.

However, the Apple supplier is pushing ahead with both projects while waiting for IFC disbursements. Goertek Technology Vina Ltd. in Bac Ninh was allowed by the provincial administration this March to raise its investment capital to $565.7 million from $260 million. Its CEO Yoshinaga Kazuyoshi said his company, which produces electronic devices, network equipment and multimedia audio products, now employs over 30,000 workers. Last year, its revenue soared by 20.4% to $3.28 billion despite the pandemic.

As for Goertek Precision Industry Vietnam Ltd. in the central province of Nghe An, Goertek in January decided to add $400 million to the $100 million manufacturing facility, making it the largest foreign-invested project in the province.

Goertek Inc. is a leading global leading manufacturer of acoustic components and audio consumer electronic products like earphones, smart watches, and loudspeakers. It is headquartered in China’s Shandong province and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The company is one of the three key suppliers for Apple in Vietnam, along with Foxconn and Luxshare.

Shenzhen-based Luxshare Precision Industry set up its Vietnam subsidiary last February. The facility, located in the northern province of Bac Giang, started manufacturing the iPhone 13 in the third quarter last year. Luxshare operates two other manufacturing facilities in Nghe An, with about 7,000 workers at present.

Notably, Bac Giang is home to the $270 million Fukang Technology Company factory of Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker. The Taiwanese group reportedly invested $700 million in Vietnam last year after having poured $1.5 billion into the country by the end of 2020. It also operates factories in Bac Ninh.

Taiwan-based Wistron, a manufacturing partner of Apple, has so far invested about $300 million into Vietnam and is operating only one facility in Ha Nam province, about 50 kilometers south of Hanoi. Wistron Infocomm Vietnam manufactures displays, computer peripherals and devices, but is not yet an Apple supplier.

American fair

Bordering Hanoi, Bac Ninh is where U.S.-based Amkor Technology Inc., a global semiconductor product packaging and test services provider, is investing as much as $1.6 billion until 2035 to build a state-of-the-art facility as an important part of the American corporation’s worldwide network. Having promised full support for the American major, the provincial administration gave the green light to the mammoth project last November.

“This is a strategic, long-term investment in geographical diversification and factory capacity expansion, supporting the company’s commitment to reliable supply chain solutions for our customers. Factory utilization is high, particularly at our advanced packaging sites, and we expect the strong market demand for assembly and test solutions to continue," said Giel Rutten, Amkor’s president and CEO.

"Investing in Bac Ninh expands our manufacturing footprint in support of customer need for an alternative cost-competitive supply chain solution for Advanced SiP – and for other packaging solutions in the future.

“Support from Bac Ninh and a strong labor force make Bac Ninh an excellent choice for this expansion, and we expect this new facility to become an important part of our assembly and test network in the future.”

Meanwhile, American giant chipmaker Intel did not choose the north or central Vietnam for its facilities but Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s southern economic hub. Intel has so far invested $1.5 billion in Vietnam since its 2006 inception here, making it the largest US technology investor.

With such capital, Intel Products Vietnam Co. Ltd. is the largest assembly and test manufacturing facility in the Intel assembly and test network worldwide. Intel has been mulling over new investments for Vietnam, but the global pandemic and worldwide shortages of semiconductor chips may have caused some delays, according to insiders.