Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics plans to invest 39 trillion dong (US$1.5 billion) in Vietnam to build a semiconductor testing plant, according to Reuters which has sighted the relevant documents recently.
Construction has already begun in an industrial park 60 kilometers from Hanoi. It is expected to begin operations in November 2027 delivering annually 153.3 billion gigabits (Gb) of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips and another 255.6 billion Gb of NAND memory chips. These legacy memory chips are experiencing a severe global shortage as major producers prefer to manufacture the more lucrative AI chips for AI data centers. As a result, legacy chips supply to industries such as smartphones, laptops and automobiles has been severely constrained causing prices to skyrocket in recent months.
This facility would be Samsung’s first chip testing factory in Vietnam. More than 200 Samsung staff including engineers have been at the site since April, Reuters said, quoting a person who declined to be identified. The new factory is sited next to Samsung’s other facility which produces smartphones and tablets.
In its proposal, Samsung plans to reinvest profits, if any, up to about US$ 2.5 billion, to build potentially a second factory. Vietnamese authorities are said to have approved the investment in March.
Samsung declined to comment while the People’s Committee of Thai Nguyen province, which hosts the industrial park, did not respond to a request for comment.
Samsung is the largest foreign investor in Vietnam, having committed more than US$ 23 billion over the last few decades. Vietnam already hosts assembling, packaging and testing plants of several multinationals, including Intel, Amkor Technology and Hana Micron.
