Intel pumps additional $475 mln into Vietnam facility

Intel Corporation has invested $475 million in its Ho Chi Minh City facility to develop more complex technologies and tap new market opportunities.

The latest investment takes its total in Vietnam to $1.5 billion, the U.S. chipmaker said in a statement.

“As of the end of 2020, Intel Products Vietnam has shipped more than two billion units to customers worldwide,” Kim Huat Ooi, its general manager, said.

“We are very proud of this milestone, which shows both how important IPV is to helping Intel meet the needs of its customers all around the world, and why we continue to invest in our facilities and team here in Vietnam.”

The money will go into manufacturing 5G products and the 10th-generation Intel Core processors.

One of Intel’s 10 manufacturing sites globally, IPV is the company’s largest assembly and test manufacturing facility with more than 2,700 employees.

Nguyen Anh Thi, president of the Saigon Hi-Tech Park, where the plant is located, said Intel’s decision to increase its investment indicates its confidence in the workforce and Vietnam’s reliable investment environment.

The new investment comes amid the expansion by a number of electronics giants in Vietnam as they seek to diversify their supply chains.

Foxconn this month got the license to build a $270-million plant in the north capable of producing eight million laptops and tablets annually. It has so far invested $1.5 billion in Vietnam.

Japan’s Panasonic decided to end the production of washing machines and refrigerators in Thailand and move it to a consolidated appliance assembly facility in Vietnam.