Reports: Chinese Supplier to Apple, Samsung Plans Big Investment in Vietnam
2023-01-12
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1A Chinese supplier of electronic equipment to both Apple and Samsung plans a big investment in two factories in Vietnam.
2Reuters news service spoke to two people who know about the deal.
3The reports say BOE Technology Group plans to invest up to $400 million.
4The plan suggests that U.S company Apple and Taiwan's Foxconn are trying to make changes to how their parts are supplied.
5The changes could mean that some electronic parts production would be moved out of China to Vietnam, as U.S. and other companies try to reduce their dependence on Chinese manufacturers.
6Political tensions between China and the United States may have influenced the changes.
7Production delays from China's severe COVID-19 measures also may have played a part.
8BOE, which is in Beijing, is in talks to pay for the use of land in northern Vietnam.
9It also aims to expand its small factories in the south.
10Those factories currently supply television screens to South Korea's Samsung and LG Electronics.
11That information comes from people who did not want to be identified because the negotiations are secret.
12BOE chose not to comment on the issue.
13Northern Vietnam has gained notable investments in recent years from electronics companies.
14It has become a center for manufacturing smartphones, computers and cameras. That includes products for Apple and Samsung.
15Hon Hai Precision Industry, the trading name for Taiwan's Foxconn, and China's Luxshare Precision Industry also make or plan to make laptop and tablet computers there.
16One person told Reuters that BOE plans to rent 100 hectares and use 20 percent of it to build a factory for making remote control systems.
17The cost would be $150 million.
18The rest would be for displays.
19The goal is to have the developments in place by 2025.
20One person involved said BOE plans to make higher-level technology such as organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens at the factory.
21Apple included BOE on its list of 2021 manufacturing partners.
22It uses OLED screens for its latest iPhone smartphones.
23Kuo Ming-chi is an expert at TF International Securities, a financial services company in Hong Kong.
24He said BOE is China's biggest display maker and aims to become Apple's largest supplier of displays for new iPhones by 2024.
25However, Bloomberg news reported recently that Apple plans to start making its own screens by next year.
26Apple chose not to provide a comment to Reuters reporters.
27But a person involved in the deal said BOE's Vietnam plan is not completely aimed at supplying Apple.
28BOE is also a supplier to Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker.
29Samsung currently produces half its smartphones in Vietnam.
30LG also has operations in the country and plans new investments.
31I'm Mario Ritter Jr.