https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/10/6/vietnam-eyes-chinas-tech-crown-as-firms-flee-zero-covid
Vietnam eyes China’s tech crown as firms tire of ‘zero COVID’
Apple, Google, and Samsung are among the tech giants expanding operations in the fast-growing Southeast Asian country.
By Govi Snell
Published On 6 Oct 2022
Frustrated with China’s “zero-COVID” lockdowns halting production at a moment’s notice, manufacturers are seeking alternatives to the world’s biggest economy and No 1 manufacturing hub. Vietnam, with its cheap labour, geographic proximity to China and stable political environment, is a key beneficiary.
“For a lot of these companies, they withstood the trade war, they withstood rising labour costs in China, and then they withstood the breakdown of supply chains during COVID… [China’s] zero-COVID policy I think now is the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” Greg Poling, director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told Al Jazeera.
Foxconn and Luxshare Precision Industry, two of Apple’s most important suppliers, are currently in talks to make Apple Watches and Macbooks in Vietnam for the first time. To support its Vietnam expansion, Taiwan-based Foxconn has announced plans to invest $300m in a new 50.5-hectare factory in Bac Giang, a northern province located about 50km (31 miles) from Hanoi.
Google is set to begin manufacturing its Pixel smartphones in Vietnam from 2023, while Samsung plans to start making semiconductor components next summer at a sprawling factory in Thai Nguyen province.
“It’s just too expensive to be in China now,” Albert Tan, an associate professor at the Asian Institute of Management in Manila, Philippines, told Al Jazeera. “The problem is that the lockdowns are so unpredictable and so frequent… Many factories are moving to Vietnam.”
= new reply since forum marked as read