Apple’s more aggressive move toward its production in Vietnam is becoming more evident as one of its major suppliers inked a new investment deal.
Foxconn, a Taiwan-based electronics contract manufacturer, signed a $300 million memorandum of understanding with Vietnamese developer Kinh Bac City to build a new facility in Bac Giang province, northern Vietnam.
The new factory will rise on 50.5-hectare land in Quang Chau Industrial Park and is expected to generate 30,000 jobs when it starts operation.
As one of Apple’s oldest and largest suppliers, Foxconn assembles the bulk of iPhones for the US tech giant.
Foxconn’s move follows reports about Apple’s big plans for Vietnam as it transfers its Macbook and Apple Watch production to the Southeast Asian country. A Nikkei Asia article last week said Apple is looking at Vietnam to diversify its production further away from China.
Vietnam remains Apple’s most crucial production hub outside of China, producing a wide range of flagship products for the American company, including iPads and AirPods.
At the contract signing over the weekend, the chairman of the Bac Giang People’s Committee, Le Anh Duong, said Foxconn had been a “great partner of the Vietnamese province” for the past 15 years. Foxconn currently has the largest investment capital in Quang Chau Industrial Park, with about $773 million in total investment. Its member companies, Fuhong, Fuyu, and Fukang, have also poured million-dollar investments into Quang Chau Industrial Park.
Last year, Foxconn also said it would invest $700 million in the province to enable the manufacturing of MacBook and iPad devices. In the first two months of 2021, Bac Giang attracted over US$588 million in investment, more than four times higher than in the same period last year.
Eyes on Bac Giang
Bac Giang province vowed to speed up local infrastructure projects and provide the best incentives for foreign investors to become one of the country’s major industrial hubs. The region, just 50 kilometers from the center of Hanoi, has risen economically over the years.
The province has also taken advantage of being at the crossroads of major trade routes: Adjacent to the economic triangle Hanoi-Hai Phong-Quang Ninh, 110 kilometers from the Huu Nghi Border Gate with China, 100 kilometers from the Hai Phong seaport, and 40 kilometers from Noi Bai International Airport.
The province has already built seven industrial parks, with Quang Chau being the largest, that attract a continuous flow of fresh capital. In addition, the region is also home to 36 industrial clusters spread over 682 hectares. It has also made significant efforts to improve its labor force through training to meet the requirements of employers for high-tech enterprises.
As of January 2021, Bac Giang has attracted 1304 domestic investment projects with a registered capital of 91,505 billion VND and 472 FDI projects with more than $7.7 billion.