Samsung has said it intends to invest an additional US$1 billion a year in its operations in Vietnam. This will add to the US$22.4 billion already invested in the country by Samsung.
The arrival of Samsung back in 2008 heralded a significant shift in the manufacturing sector with the South Korean mobile phone behemoth transforming Vietnam’s northern provinces into an epicentre of electronics manufacturing. Samsung Vietnam has grown to account for about 20 percent of Vietnam’s annual exports. This investment will further ingrain the company in Vietnam’s economy.
That said, whereas Samsung has created thousands of jobs in Vietnam the majority are in low-value assembly rather than high-value research and development. Vietnam has pushed the firm to help Vietnam to move up the supply chain most recently in semiconductor chip development but there have been reports that, at least in semiconductor production, Samsung is reluctant.
See also: Vietnam’s Semiconductor Manufacturing Ambitions: Unpacked