Samsung to expand northern Vietnam plant

Samsung is set to expand its plant in the northern province of Bac Ninh this year to increase its production capacity of foldable devices.

The company would kick off the expansion project within the second half of this year, targeting full operation by the end of 2021 or early next year at the latest.

This is to increase Samsung’s annual production capacity of foldables by 47 percent from the current 17 million to 25 million.

Experts say once Samsung completes the expansion, the company would be able to produce 10 million units of Galaxy Z Fold models and 15 million units of Z Flip models a year.

Samsung’s decision to ramp up capacity is mainly driven by soaring market demand. Its third-generation foldable models recorded 920,000 pre-orders in South Korea, 1.8 times more than its latest smartphone Galaxy S21, the report stated.

“Samsung’s factories that make foldable devices are already operating at full capacity. Samsung has no option but to expand its facilities,” a source told the newspaper.

It will likely add three more production lines to its current seven, which would allow the company to manage the production volume more flexibly, the source added.

Samsung, the biggest foreign investor in Vietnam, has six plants and is building a new research and development center in Hanoi, which would open next year. Around 3,000 Vietnamese engineers are set to be employed there.

The South Korean company has invested over $17.7 billion in Vietnam, has 110,000 employees and exported over $56 billion worth of products last year.