Samsung to set up R&D centre in Vietnam

Seoul: South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics has been given the green light by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to build a $300 million research and development centre in the capital Hanoi, the media reported on Friday.

Once operational in 2019, the 21-storey facility will cover three hectares, employ about 6,000 people and develop high-tech electronic and telecommunication products, the company said.

It will also operate rent-free for 50 years, EFE news reported.

Vietnam has become one of Samsung`s biggest production hubs, and the firm has invested almost $15 billion in two production facilities in the country`s north, and in Saigon.

Producing Samsung products has helped Vietnam replace clothing and footwear with smartphone and electronics manufacturing as the country`s largest source of export revenue.

Smartphone exports alone were worth $30 billion last year, making up 18.6 percent of the Communist country`s total export revenue.