Main facility in $1.5bn LG production campus opens in Vietnam
Main facility in $1.5bn LG production campus opens in Vietnam
The newest production facility in Vietnam of LG Electronics (LG) was officially opened in the northern city of Hai Phong on Friday.
The facility will house production lines to manufacture TVs, mobile phones, washing machines, air conditioners and car infotainment systems for the domestic and overseas markets, LG said on its website on Friday.
The 800,000-square-meter newly opened plant is the main part of a larger production complex known as the Hai Phong Campus, according to LG.
The opening ceremony was attended by more than 400 guests including such high-profile officials as Vietnam President Truong Tan Sang, Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Dae-joo Jun, and LG executives, including LG Corp. chairman Bon-moo Koo and LG Electronics vice chairman and CEO Bon-joon Koo.
The Hai Phong Campus will be home to many more facilities that will be constructed as part of a $1.5 billion investment earmarked by LG and key suppliers over 15 years, according to the electronics giant.
LG currently operates two plants in Vietnam, and will consolidate production in the Hai Phong Campus, which will continue to expand well into the next decade, the company said.
The northern coastal city, about 106km east of Hanoi, was selected as LG’s main site for investment in Vietnam thanks to its status as a port city, which the company says makes transport to other markets faster and more efficient.
The Southeast Asian country also offers an educated and high quality labor force, and the local government is eager to work with LG.
“It’s quite appropriate to be marking this occasion on the 20th anniversary of our entry into Vietnam,” said LG Electronics CEO Bon-joon Koo.
“We will make every effort to make this cooperative venture a success so that our new Hai Phong Campus will play an important role in LG’s global manufacturing strategy.”
LG Electronics Inc, the world's second largest television maker, will reportedly shift its TV production in Thailand to Vietnam this year for efficiency, logistics and costs, according to a top executive at its Thai unit.
The group wants to have one regional base with new machines for TV production comparable with those at its South Korean plants, and considers Vietnam to be the best place, Nipon Wongsaengarunsri, marketing director of LG Electronics (Thailand) Co, told Reuters in a telephone interview.
LG produces about 600,000 television sets a year in Thailand worth 8 billion baht (164 million pounds), with 100,000 sets for export, according to Nipon.
