Electronics

By Nguyen Huong

LG Electronics Vietnam says it will only stop the phone production line at its Hai Phong plant

It’s correct that LG Hai Phong will stops running its smartphone production line, but other lines for washing machines, vacuum cleaners and refrigerators operate normally, the representative told VTCNews on April 15.

The executive refuted rumours that LG Electronics is selling its plant in Hai Phong for more than VND2,000 billion. The executive at the same time affirmed that the plant is running normally, and employees working for the smartphone line will move to the refrigerator line.

The phone production line is scheduled to stop its operation in June 2021.

Earlier, Korean media outlets reported the Hai Phong plant, a site which is considered to be the largest among LG Electronics’ smartphone plants globally, is expected to be the first place to find a buyer.

The plant produces approximately 10 million smartphones annually, roughly half of LG’s total smartphone output.

LG Electronics has developed three plants in Vietnam. The Hai Phong plant specializes in mobile phones, television sets, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, and refrigerators. LG Innotek Vietnam manufactures camera modules for smartphones, while LG Display Vietnam produces screens.

VOV

It is necessary for Vietnamese firms to work with FDI enterprises to establish value chains in the electronics industry. — Photo tapchicongthuong.vn

Vietnam was now home to factories of a number of global technology giants such as Samsung, LG, Canon and Intel with investment sums worth billions of dollars.

The country recently emerged as a top destination for FDI in the global production shift.

Oppo was planning to build a plant in the northern province of Bac Ninh while Lenovo was also studying the opportunity for a plant in Bac Ninh or Bac Giang.

Although Apple has not announced plans to assemble iPhones in Vietnam, many of their partners were increasing the production of components in the country.

Foxconn invested in a project producing iPads and MacBooks worth US$270 million in Bac Giang three months ago and planned to expand production in the country with a goal of reaching revenue of $40 billion in the next three to five years.

According to Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, there was a significant change in the electronics industry in recent years that Vietnam had original design manufacturers (ODMs).

Still, the electronics industry of Vietnam was still dominated by the FDI sector.

Although Vietnam was one among 12 of the largest electronics exporters in the world and top three in ASEAN, 95 per cent of the country’s electronics export came from FDI enterprises.

Do Thuy Huong from the Vietnam Electronic Industries Association said it was necessary for Vietnamese firms to cooperate with FDI enterprise to establish value chains in the electronics industry.

Three factors must be in place to be able to become suppliers of global technology giants – quality, on-time delivery and reasonable price, she said.

According to Vietnam Industry Agency, the capacity of domestic electronics enterprises remained limited, while the product quality and design had not met market demand.

There were emerging names recently, such as Bphone, Vsmart and Viettel, but foreign names were still dominant.

The local procurement rate was also low, only at around five to 10 per cent. Electronic products in the Vietnamese market were mainly imported or assembled from imported components.

Some companies managed to participate in the industry’s supply chains but most could only supply products of low value and technology content.

The Vietnam Industry Agency said that domestic electronic enterprises must improve their capacity to be able to participate in the supply chains of the FDI enterprises as well as being able to take advantage of opportunities arising from new-generation free trade agreements.

Support should be provided to selected enterprises that take the role in promoting the development of the electronics industry, the agency said.

Besides solutions to expand markets, enterprises should focus on identifying their core products and strengths to create breakthroughs.

VNS

Vietnam’s electronics exports have enjoyed robust growth in recent times, with foreign firms holding 95% of Vietnamese electronics export value, according to figures released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The Ministry revealed that the average growth rate of Vietnamese electronics exports throughout the 2010 to 2019 period hit over 50%, with exports in 2019 reaching more than US$87 billion.

By the end of the first quarter of the year, the electronics sector was ranked among the key industries with export turnover reaching over US$5 billion, of which the export of phones and components enjoyed an increase of 9% to US$14.1 billion on-year, while computer and component exports rose by 31% to US$12 billion.

Despite this, up to 95% of the export value of the electronics industry belonged to foreign-invested enterprises (FDI) during the reviewed period, with the export value of telephones and components accounting for over 99% of the total, while electronics, computers, and components made up 98%.

Experts indicate that these inadequacies can be attributed to the electronics industry’s low localisation rate of between 5% and 10%, adding that the majority of electronic products within the Vietnamese market are CBU (complete built unit) imports, or alternatively assembled domestically from imported accessories with low technological content.

Furthermore, several reputable domestic electronics firms have been slowing down, with their brands gradually fading away recently, while emerging local brands such as Vsmart, Vietel, and Bphone are facing fierce competition from foreign brands.

Representatives from the Vietnam Industry Agency indicate that the capacity of domestic enterprises remains limited due to their product quality and designs not sufficiently meeting the market’s high demand, while there remains weak connectivity between FDI enteprirses and multinational corporations.

Despite this, through a number of co-operative projects alongside FDI enterprises, domestic firms have shown great efforts in improving their product quality and competitiveness as they join the supply chains of FDI businesses.

For example, the number of Vietnamese first-tier suppliers for Samsung Vietnam recorded an increase to 35 within four years, according to experts from the agency.

At present, there are four Vietnamese enterprises which are participating in Panasonic’s supply chain, with its value accounting for approximately 10% of the group’s production input value, while Canon Vietnam has continuously sought Vietnamese suppliers in order to increase its localisation rate.

The Vietnam Industry Agency proposed that the Government take measures to protect the electricity and consumer electronics market, fine-tune the legal framework on the rules of origin for Vietnamese goods, while simultaneously devising support policies for a number of promising domestic enterprises within the electronics sector.

Experts have therefore advised businesses to identify their core product segments whilst paying close attention to the general trends occurring globally in terms of consumption and technology development as they prepare to launch highly-competitive products in the future.

according to the Vietnam Industry Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

An employee at work at an electronics factory in Vietnam. Foreign direct investment firms still dominated electronic shipments to foreign markets in the first quarter of 2021 – Photo: VNA

Statistics from the agency indicated that between January and March, electronics were listed among groups with export earnings of over US$5 billion. The country saw computers, electronic products and accessories report export turnovers of US$12 billion, soaring by 31% year-on-year.

Apart from representing a lion’s share of electronic export earnings, FDI firms also accounted for a large proportion of 99% in the shipment value of phones and phone parts during the three-month period.

The agency attributed the FDI firms’ domination to a low localization rate in the electronics sector at a mere 5%-10%. Most electronic products in the Vietnamese market are imported ones.

Though local supporting industry firms are participating in the value chain of the electronics industry, most of them offer low technology products.

In addition, the growth of domestic electronics companies has slowed down or gradually faded away in the local market.

The capacity of domestic firms remained limited, while the quality and styles of products failed to meet the high demands of the market. Besides, the link between local suppliers and FDI firms and multinational corporations remained weak, according to the Vietnam Industry Agency.

The agency said that through some programs and activities, local firms had enhanced their efforts to improve the quality of their products to join the supply chain of FDI firms.

However, the electronics sector faced a shortage of major strategic products that could lead the market, the local media reported.

As such, the agency proposed the Government map out and adopt solutions to protect the electronics industry, including applying trade remedies and technical barriers and offering support policies to local firms active in the electronics industry.

Aside from this, the agency called on electronics firms to focus on key products that have a powerful breakthrough to boost the sector.

SGT

A worker inspects a printer circuit board at a factory in Bac Ninh Province. Photo by Reuters.

In the first quarter this year, exports of phones and components were worth $14.1 billion, 99 percent of it by foreign firms.

Exports of computers and parts exports topped $12 billion, with foreign companies accounting for 98 percent.

The agency said the rate of use of local parts in the industry is 5-10 percent, with Vietnamese businesses in the supply chain mostly producing low added value products.

There are several domestic smartphone brands like Vsmart produced by VinSmart, a subsidiary of conglomerate Vingroup, and Bphone by cybersecurity company BKAV, but the market is dominated by foreign brands.

The agency said: “The products made by domestic firms do not meet the demand in terms of quality or design. The linkages between foreign firms and their local counterparts remain weak.”

But it admitted Vietnamese businesses have been striving to improve quality so that they could enter the supply chains of foreign companies, pointing out for instance that the number of local tier-1 suppliers (who supply products directly to a company without going through intermediaries) of Samsung had increased from four in 2014 to 35 last year.

Local electronics firms should identify their core products, target their market segments, stay ahead of consumer trends, and keep up with the global technological development to create competitive products, it said.

“They should take advantage of trade deals such as the EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement,” the agency stressed.