Samsung Electronics mulls investment in chip testing and packaging facilities in Vietnam

SEOUL/HANOI, April 9 (Reuters) – South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics is considering investing in chip-testing and packaging facilities in Vietnam, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters, without elaborating on the value and timeline of the investment. 

A Samsung Electronics spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. 

* Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance on Thursday said it wasworking with Samsung on a semiconductor project. * “The ministry is coordinating with other ministries andagencies to finalise and submit to the Prime Minister theMemorandum of Understanding between the Government of Vietnamand Samsung Group regarding the group’s semiconductormanufacturing project in Vietnam,” the ministry said in astatement. * A second source familiar with Samsung activities inVietnam said the company had signalled to Vietnamese authoritiesfor a long time its intention to launch semiconductor operationsin the country, without elaborating on the timing or size of thepossible investment. * Samsung is the largest single foreign investor in theSoutheast Asian country, having invested over $23 billion intothe country so far, according to the Vietnamese government. * Bloomberg reported that Samsung Electronics plans a $4billion outlay to build a chip-packaging plant in northernVietnam.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin in Seoul, Francesco Guarascio and Khanh Vu in Hanoi; Editing by Susan Fenton and Keith Weir)