Samsung Electronics will soon break ground on a mobile research and development (R&D) centre in downtown Hanoi, the largest project of its kind that the conglomerate has built in Southeast Asia.

According to Nhan Dan newspaper, the new building in Hoang Mai district will replace a rented one at the PVI Tower in Cau Giay district.

Established in the capital in 2012, Samsung’s mobile R&D centre has been in charge of the company’s software market for mobile phones and tablets across Southeast Asia. It accounts for 10 percent of Samsung’s global revenue in the arena.

Photo for illustration: thegioididong.com

Investing 300 million USD in the construction of the new R&D centre reflects Samsung’s intention to make Vietnam a new Silicon Valley, rather than a manufacturing destination. The company also plans to expand its R&D workforce from 1,600 to 1,800 engineers. This means Vietnam will be producing more value-added products.

Samsung is not the only foreign investor eyeing R&D expansion in Vietnam. Apple – Samsung’s major rival in the mobile phones and tablets market – may inject a billion USD into a data and R&D centre in Hanoi. The facility will serve demand from the entire Asian region. Construction time and location remain unknown.

Nguyen Mai, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises, said those upbeat market signals show a new wave of foreign direct investment flowing into Vietnam that boasts much higher value-added production.

The trend has begun some years ago, with Hewlett-Packard, Piaggio, Panasonic, Yamaha and General Electric being among big names that have invested in their own R&D establishments in Vietnam.

A huge amount of capital has been poured into the country from overseas for many years, mostly focusing on real estate and light industries such as garment-textiles and footwear. The emergence of R&D projects will speed up the technology transfer process. More Vietnamese will have opportunities to access advanced technology from global conglomerates.

Do Duc Dung, a project manager at Samsung’s R&D centre, said Vietnamese staff are as competent as their foreign peers.

Vo Quang Hue, Vice President of Robert Bosch Vietnam, which is a subsidiary of Robert Bosch Germany and has two software and engineering R&D centres in Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City, said Vietnamese engineers have improved rapidly in recent years.

They are qualified to take part in R&D projects from foreign enterprises, he noted.

Source: VNA