Samsung eyes dedicated airport terminal in Hanoi as more telecoms firms invest in Vietnam

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Vietnam factoryTo accommodate its growing business in Vietnam, electronics company Samsung is seeking permission from the government to have the terminal being built at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi for its exclusive use when it opens by the end of the year.

Samsung has formally asked the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam and the Airports Corporation of Vietnam to be allowed to use the cargo terminal currently under construction by ALS Port Terminal Co. as its private terminal to hasten its import-export activities.

According to the South Korean company, it contributed about 35 percent of the inbound and outbound goods, or about 80,000 tons of cargo, processed at the airport in 2013, and sees its share eventually rising to 50 percent.

Samsung would like to have its warehouses in Yen Phong and Yen Binh Industrial Zones in Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen provinces, which were also built by ALS, to be connected to the terminal to meet the urgent needs of the business, according to reports from local media.

The conglomerate said it started investing in the Southeast Asian country in 2008 with an initial capital of US$670 million, and increased its capitalization 10 times six years later.

More electronics giants coming

Vietnam is turning out to be a highly favored destination for electronics giants, especially for the production of smartphones. Samsung and Microsoft are reportedly taking steps to relocate their smartphone production bases to Vietnam this year.

Microsoft, which now owns the Nokia phone brand, announced last month its plan to turn its factory in Bac Ninh into a major smartphone production base, as Nokia begins relocating its factories in Hungary to other sites and closing some of its factories in China.

Another South Korean firm, LG Electronics, is pouring $1.5 billion in a factory in Hai Phong City. The facility, to be operational by next month, will produce TV sets, washing machines, and other appliances, but the company also disclosed later plans to produce smartphones as well.

Apple, although still not an investor, is said to be already gearing up to enter the Vietnamese market.

The attractive investment incentives offered by the government are enticing global electronics firms to set up manufacturing operations in the country, according to industry observers. These include 10 percent corporate income tax for the first 15 years, tax exemption for the first four years once a firm begins to have taxable income, and a 50 percent tax reduction over the next nine years.

Top export earner

According to Vietnam’s General Statistics Office, phones and phone parts continued to be the biggest export earner of the country in the first eight months this year, with total revenue expanding 13.7 percent year-on-year to $15.22 billion, reported VietnamNet Bridge.

The commodity in recent years has overtaken the three former top export contributors of the country—apparel, footwear, and crude oil.

Industry watchers forecast export revenue from phones and components to keep growing as international telecommunications companies continue to invest and expand their operations in Vietnam.

Photo: East Asia & Pacific on the rise