Samsung might be planning to make additional investments in Vietnam and increase its smartphone production capacity in the country. Vice President Lee Jae-Yong is visiting Vietnam this week after two years of absence. The VP flew to Hanoi earlier today and will attend a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Tuesday, reveals a recent report by The Korea Herald.
The purpose of this trip is not very clear but Samsung's heir and the Vietnamese Prime Minister might be discussing the possibility of building a semiconductor facility in Hanoi. The country's official had asked Samsung to consider building a chip manufacturing plant in Vietnam last year when attending a private meeting in Seoul, and Lee Jae-Yong might finally have an answer.
There might be other reasons behind this trip. The VP is accompanied by the chief of mobile, Roh Tae-Moon, as well as the head of Samsung Display, Lee Dong-Hoon. Therefore, the purpose of this meeting could be to discuss potential expansion plans for mobile phone and/or display manufacturing in the country.
Samsung is already making efforts to rely less on its supply chain from China and has relocated its PC monitor as well as its TV production lines to Vietnam. The company is already manufacturing most of its smartphones in Vietnam and perhaps Samsung is looking to increase the production capacity in the country.
Finally, Samsung's executives are also expected to visit an R&D center that's being constructed in Hanoi. The outcome of this visit should become clearer in the coming days. We'll keep you posted as soon as we find out more.
