Samsung to make smart TVs at latest $3bn Vietnam facility

The South Korean electronics titan is reportedly investing another US$3 billion in Thai Nguyen, where a $2 billion facility has already been operational since March.

The Thai Nguyen administration said last week Samsung’s new investment was still under consideration, and it could not give any details.

But in a proposal submitted to the provincial People’s Council early this week, Samsung’s intentions for its second Thai Nguyen facility have been revealed.

The document is intended to list the preferential treatments the Thai Nguyen administration is seeking permission to award to Samsung.

Samsung is expected to produce not only mobile phones and parts but also make and assemble laptops, digital cameras, vacuum cleaners, smart TVs, medical equipment, and other electronic devices at the new facility, according to the proposal.

A smart TV, also known as a connected TV or hybrid TV, is a TV with integrated Internet capabilities or a TV set-top box that offers advanced connectivity and computing abilities, according to Reuters. Smart TVs allow users to install and run advanced applications based on specific platforms.

The Thai Nguyen administration proposes that Samsung enjoy a 10 percent corporate tax for 30 years, with an exemption for the first four years. Vietnam currently imposes a 20 percent corporate tax rate on businesses.

The proposed preferential treatments also include zero land leasing fees for the whole life of the project, and a 50 percent reduction in the infrastructure leasing fee in the Yen Binh Industrial Park, where Samsung’s existing plant sits.

The province’s administration also sought to reduce the number of required standards in terms of research and development for Samsung.

Once the new Samsung facility is commissioned, it will create a ‘miracle’ for the economic development of Thai Nguyen, as the world’s leading smartphone maker will attract many suppliers to the province, according to the provincial administration.

Thai Nguyen will thus become one of the world’s top technology cities, it said.

The South Korean firm’s investment in Vietnam has hit nearly $7 billion.

Samsung is operating a $2.5 billion complex in Bac Ninh, also a northern province, where another $1 billion LCD plant is slated for construction, according to an agreement its screen-making unit inked in June.

Samsung is also poised to build a $1.4 billion consumer electronicsfactory in Ho Chi Minh City’s Saigon Hi-Tech Park.

If the 70-hectare plant in Thai Nguyen is licensed, Samsung’s total investment in Vietnam will rise to roughly $10 billion, making the Southeast Asian country one of the most important production bases for the electronics behemoth.

The company also signed a memorandum of understanding last month to develop a $2.5 billion thermal power plant in the north-central province of Ha Tinh.