Global Electronics Companies Continue to Shift Production to Vietnam

July 2020

Major global tech companies, including LG, Panasonic, Samsung or Foxconn, are looking to shift or expand production in Vietnam in the post-Covid-19 pandemic period, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Recently LG moved its entire smartphone production from South Korea to a facility in Hai Phong. The city was seeking government approval for the expansion of an industrial park in order to support LG’s plan.

A relocation of a production chain for refrigerators and washing machines from Thailand to Vietnam is planned by Panasonic Vietnam, and it is expected  to take place in September 2020, marking another global electronic company that relocates part of its production capabilities to Vietnam.

Qualcomm Vietnam Company Limited has launched a new research and development (R&D) facility in Hanoi, which will be the company’s first R&D facility in Southeast Asia. The new facility will provide high-end services to Qualcomm Technologies’ domestic manufacturer clients, including VinSmart, BKAV, and Viettel, to develop and manufacture high-quality equipment quality meeting international standards.

Apple is moving around 30% of its AirPods production to Vietnam, equivalent to three to four million units. According to recent media reports, the production will happen via  Foxconn, with the process having started in March. In the past it was reported that China-based GoerTek, an AirPods assembler, began preparing to shift production to Vietnam in late 2018 and started test production in 2019. Chinese company Luxshare Precision Industry invested in Vietnam in 2019 and passed Apple’s qualification to produce the wireless headphones. Inventec, another AirPods assembler, is currently building a plant in Vietnam, at Apple’s request.

(Source: Vietnamnet; Nhipcaudautu; Vietnam News)

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