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Taiwan’s Pegatron pouring US$1 billion into Vietnam high-tech
Apple supplier secures license for US$19 million facility in Haiphong, with two more projects in the pipeline
Nguyen Tuong Thuy 25 Sep 2020

Pegatron, a supplier of Apple, Microsoft and Sony, has become a new star in Vietnam’s FDI firmament with its plans to invest up to US$1 billion in the Southeast Asian country.

The Taipei-based company will invest the money into three high-tech production plants at the Nam Dinh Vu Industrial Park in the northern city of Haiphong. The license for the first, the US$19 million Pegatron Vietnam 1, was granted this March.

The firm is seeking an investment license for the second project, Pegatron Vietnam 2 which is worth USS481 million, to make computers, electronic devices, communications equipment, electronic components and circuit boards for global tech giants such as Apple, Lenovo, Microsoft and Sony, Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment said in a recent report.

The third project, with US$500 million investment, is set for 2026-2027. Pegatron also has plans to move its research and development center from China to Vietnam during the period.

The three projects are expected to create 22,500 jobs and contribute 100 billion Vietnamese dong (US$4.3 million) annually to the government coffers, according to the ministry report.

In addition, the ministry is working closely with Haiphong officials to fast-track the second project, and with Pegatron to help convince Universal Global Technology, a member of Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturing services provider ASE Technology Holding, to build an electronic board manufacturing and assembly plant at the Nam Dinh Vu Industrial Park, according to Dau Tu newspaper, the ministry’s mouthpiece.

If Universal Global Technology agrees, the firm would possibly build a US$400 million facility, half of the amount for phase one and the other half for phase two, to supply products for Lenovo and Sony, the newspaper reports.

In a recent letter to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the ministry proposed that the government give its full backing to Pegatron and Universal Global such as by easing conditions in land use, height of facilities, construction density and building of dormitories for workers.

Haiphong, located more than 100 kilometres east of the capital Hanoi, is on the way to become a new high-tech production centre in the north, in addition to the already established hub of Bac Ninh province, home to many of Samsung's plants.

Intel, the world’s largest chip maker, in 2006 announced investments totalling US$1 billion into Vietnam, selecting Ho Chi Minh City for the project and giving a certification of quality to the country’s business environment. Samsung, after setting up its facilities in Bac Ninh, also joined Intel in Ho Chi Minh City, with its new facilities in the southern economic hub.  

Earlier this year, Apple has begun assembling its wireless earbuds AirPods Pro in Vietnam after moving some manufacturing from China. The move was partly due to the pandemic and US-China trade tensions which have led to tariffs being imposed on some Apple products and components.

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