PM pledges optimal conditions for Samsung’s hi-tech projects

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) receives Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics Lee Jae-yong (Photo: VNA)

 Vietnam will create optimal conditions for Samsung Electronics to invest in high technology projects, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on October 20.

He made the pledge while hosting a reception in Hanoi for Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics Lee Jae-yong, who is on a visit to Vietnam.

At the reception, the Vietnamese PM noted that Samsung’s commitments made at their previous meeting during his visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) last November have been effectively carried out, especially the start of construction of Samsung’s largest research and development (R&D) centre in Southeast Asia in Hanoi this March.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the RoK’s conglomerate still maintains production and continues contributing to Vietnam’s development, he added.

Phuc informed his guest that the Vietnamese Government has allowed Samsung’s affiliate in Ho Chi Minh City to transform into a for-export processing firm in the HCM City’s Saigon Hi-Tech Park per request of the municipal People’s Committee, paving the way for the company to expand its scale in Vietnam and raise its global competitiveness.

Noting Samsung’s strengths in mobile phones, semiconductors and electronic appliances, with its mobile phones and electronic appliances manufacturing activities already thriving in Vietnam, the PM voiced his hope that Samsung will invest in semiconductor production in Vietnam in the near future.

Noting that the domestication rate of Samsung products has been rising, Phuc urged the conglomerate to further help Vietnamese supporting enterprises to take part in Samsung’s supply chain and R&D activities in Vietnam.

For his part, Lee Jae-yong expressed his gratitude to Vietnam for facilitating the entry of over 3,000 Samsung engineers and experts for smooth operations of its plants in the country.

He vowed that the Hanoi-based R&D centre will be operational by late 2022 as scheduled and will create jobs for 3,000 engineers, making it the main R&D stronghold of Samsung.

In addition to manufacturing, the conglomerate is teaming up with Vietnamese businesses in software development, he remarked.

Vietnam is currently Samsung’s largest manufacturing base abroad and the company is also the leading FDI investor in the country./.

VNA