Apple to build data centre in Vietnam

Apple CEO Tim Cook meeting Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at VEF 2019. Photo: VNA

Three years ago, Apple made local and international headlines by its plan to invest $1 billion in a data centre in either India or Vietnam to reduce dependence on third parties like Amazon or Microsoft. At the time, India won out from the two.

Now Apple has returned with another investment plan, this time to build a data centre of a similar magnitude in Vietnam.

This would be Apple’s second project in Vietnam after it invested VND15 billion ($652,200) to establish Apple Vietnam LLC in Ho Chi Minh City in October 2015. Through this company, Apple can directly sell products in Vietnam as well as provide technology, warranty, and consulting services.

Compared to other tech giants in the world like Samsung, LG or Microsoft, Apple’s move to enhance presence in Vietnam comes a beat late.

Samsung has invested more than $11.2 billion in Vietnam, with two billion-dollar electronics and electronic components manufacturing complexes in Thai Nguyen and Bac Ninh.

The Korean tech giant also runs a research and development (R&D) facility in Hanoi with about 1,450 Vietnamese engineers to support and develop applications and software for Samsung smartphones.

Meanwhile, LG Electronics has also invested in a $1.5 billion complex in Haiphong. Microsoft shifted its mobile phone manufacturing from China, Hungary, and Mexico to Bac Ninh, Vietnam since 2014.

Vietnam is fortifying its position as huge markets like China, the US, and India bring less and less revenue from iPhone sales.

Although iPhone is priced much higher in Vietnam than the income and of the majority of consumers, iPhone sales in Vietnam are still impressive.

According to the statistics of Counterpoint Research (Counterpoint Technology Market Research) from the second quarter of 2017 to 2018, Apple retained five per cent in the Vietnamese smartphone market.

“We expect to set an all-time record in revenue in key markets including the US, Canada, and Mexico, as well as Western European countries like German and Italy, and in Asia-Pacific regions like Korea and Vietnam,” Tim Cook was cited as saying by newswire Vietnamplus.