Samsung Vietnam on Monday said that the company has started building a research and development center in the country. The state-of-the-art research and development centre will be made at a cost of $220 million and is likely to be completed over the next couple of years.
Vietnam is Samsung's one of the biggest centers for manufacturing most of its smartphone models and the South Korean electronics giant so far has invested billions of dollars in the country. The announcement comes just two days after Samsung cancelled a scheduled ground-breaking ceremony owing to a virus outbreak, leading to travel restrictions on South Koreans, Hong Sun, the vice chairman of Korea Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, as reported by Reuters.
Samsung expands in Vietnam
Samsung, which reportedly, has started building the research and development center in Hanoi is likely to be completed by end 2022. Once completed, the research center will hire around 2,200 to 3,000 employees. The new research team will be involved not only in product development but also in new techniques, including artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and big data.
The new factory will be located to the west of West Lake in Hanoi and will comprise 16 storeys above ground. It will have another three storeys underground. The building will boast an area of 80,000 square meters. Samsung has been aggressively pumping in money in Vietnam of the past few years. Choi Joo Ho, General Director, Samsung Vietnam, said in a statement that the research and development center is a strategic milestone in the firm's 12-year investment history in Vietnam.
Samsung's big investment in Vietnam continues
Samsung also has a consumer appliance and television manufacturing facility in Ho Chi Minh City. Besides the company has an existing research and development center in Hanoi. Samsung is the biggest foreign investor in Vietnam and most of its smartphones are manufactured here. The other big smartphone making base is India. The South Korean electronics giant so far has invested a whopping $17 billion in Vietnam.
The new research and development center is also being touted as largest of its kind in Southeast Asia. Interestingly, Vietnam had last week banned tourists from many parts of South Korea that have been hit by coronavirus. On Friday, Vietnam announced that it won't be allowing visa-free travel for South Koreans from February 29.
