A Smartphone Production Base
Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, will visit Vietnam, the company’s largest mobile phone production base.
According to the Korean business community on October 28, Lee will visit Hanoi, Bac Ninh and Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam beginning on October 30. He is highly likely to visit Samsung’s smartphone, TV and home appliance factories in Vietnam. Lee is also expected to meet with high-ranking Vietnamese government officials including Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
Samsung Electronics operates smartphone production lines in two locations, Bac Ninh and Tahi Nguyen, in Vietnam. The factories produce 150 million units, half of the company’s annual total. This means that Vietnam is very important in Samsung’s global strategy.
"Samsung's smartphone business is suffering from a recent downturn in demand and hot pursuit by Chinese companies,” an electronics industry official said. “Lee may be visiting Vietnam as part of his efforts to revitalize Samsung’s slumping smartphone business.”