The construction of the R&D center shows that Korean enterprises attach great importance to the Vietnamese market. This year, Korea is the third largest investment partner with a capital of 4.1 billion USD after 11 months.
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong arrived in Hanoi on December 21. Photo: Reuters.
On December 21, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong arrived in Hanoi. He is expected to attend the inauguration ceremony of Samsung’s research and development (R&D) center in Vietnam on December 23.
The Korean group plans to raise its investment capital in Vietnam to 20 billion USD, focusing on artificial intelligence and big data. This information was revealed by Mr. Han Jong-hee – Vice President and General Director of Samsung Electronics – during a meeting with President Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Seoul in early December.
Up to now, the total investment capital in Vietnam has reached 18 billion USD with exports reaching 65.5 billion USD in 2021.
Appreciate Vietnam market and human resources
Samsung’s R&D center in Vietnam was started in March 2020 in the urban area west of West Lake. With an investment scale of about USD 220 million, this is Samsung’s largest R&D center in Southeast Asia.
The center is expected to hire about 3,000 people, focusing on research on artificial intelligence, 5G networks, big data, and mobile products such as smartphones and tablets.
“Samsung’s research centers are mainly located in developed countries. However, the group has decided to build an R&D Center in Hanoi with a workforce of up to 3,000 people,” said Mr. Hong Sun, Vice President of Korean Business Association in Vietnam (Korcham Vietnam), commented in an interview with Zing.
Mr. Hong Sun – Vice President of Korean Business Association in Vietnam. Photo: Viet Linh.
In addition to Samsung, many Korean companies in Vietnam also have their own R&D centers. According to Mr. Hong Sun, it shows that Korean enterprises attach great importance to the market, country and human resources of Vietnam.
“Part of the reason is that the population of Korea is quite small, we need your country’s abundant, talented and young workforce,” said the vice president of the association.
“We also employ 99% of Vietnamese workers. These workers will not work for Korean businesses forever. They can learn, draw from experience, then start a business and apply the lessons for their own company,” he added.
3rd largest FDI partner
According to Mr. Hong Sun, at the present time, Vietnam is one of the countries that Korean investors are most interested in. The two countries have many similarities in terms of culture, people, cuisine, and outlook on life.
“Korean investors come to Vietnam to live and work but do not feel like living abroad, but feel as comfortable as living in the country,” he affirmed.
In the first 11 months of 2022, the total foreign investment capital newly registered, adjusted and contributed capital to buy shares in Vietnam reached more than USD 25.1 billion, increased by 0.4% compared to 10 months and 10.3% compared to 9 months. In which, Korea is the third largest investment partner with a registered investment capital of more than 4.1 billion USD, accounting for 16.4% of the total investment capital.
Among large corporations, Lotte Group has invested a total of nearly 5 billion USD in Vietnam and considers it the 3rd largest market after Korea and Japan. Hyosung Group invests 3.5 billion USD in many fields such as apparel, industrial facilities, creating jobs for 10,000 employees.
During a recent meeting with President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, leading Korean corporations such as LG, Daewoo, Hyundai Motor and GS E&C also pledged to increase investment in Vietnam. In particular, Mr. Kwon Bong Seok – Vice President and CEO of LG Group – expressed his desire to turn Vietnam into a camera production center for LG phones in the future.
Speaking to Zing, Mr. Hong Sun at Korcham Vietnam said that Korean businesses are very interested in the manufacturing sector, which is the foundation for the country’s development.
“Large corporations like Samsung and LG have invested tens of billions of dollars in production to serve the Vietnamese market and export to foreign countries. That creates benefits for both sides. For example, Samsung’s tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 supporting companies alone have grown to 1,000 companies,” he shared.
“We expect the Vietnamese Government to maintain preferential policies and create favorable conditions for foreign businessmen to invest in an effective and comprehensive way,” Mr. Hong Sun told Zing.
@ Zing News
