Samsung Vietnam: Vietnam is a "land" that nurtures businesses

“It can be said that from the moment we invested in Vietnam, this place was not simply an investment market but became a ‘land’ that nurtured businesses. And businesses need to continuously cultivate this land to be able to develop sustainably,” said the leader of Samsung Vietnam Complex.

Mr. Choi Joo Ho, General Director of Samsung Vietnam: "Samsung's success is Vietnam's success" - Photo VGP/Nguyen Duc

At the workshop "Resonating investment power for a prosperous Vietnam" organized by Dau Tu Newspaper on the morning of May 15, 2023, more than 300 delegates representing ministries and branches from the Ministry of Planning and Investment , the State Bank, international organizations, representatives of foreign associations in Vietnam, and domestic and international associations and enterprises shared, listened, discussed and evaluated to draw lessons from successful models in foreign investment cooperation.

Delegates also discussed and identified new trends and opportunities for successful competition in attracting new capital flows; at the same time, proposed ideas and solutions to remove difficulties and obstacles in order to promote foreign investment flows into Vietnam and improve Vietnam's position in the global production chain.

On the 35-year journey of attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam, Samsung first made its mark 15 years ago, but has proven to be a successful investment model. Therefore, Samsung was chosen to represent the businesses participating in sharing at this Conference.

In the speech of Mr. Choi Joo Ho, General Director of Samsung Vietnam, besides sharing the success story of Samsung in Vietnam, there are also proposals for the sustainable growth of Vietnam and FDI enterprises.

"Samsung's success is Vietnam's success"

Samsung officially invested in Vietnam in 2008 with the construction of a mobile phone factory in Bac Ninh province.

After that, through continuous investment activities in Thai Nguyen, Hanoi , Ho Chi Minh City, Samsung is currently operating 6 factories, 1 sales entity, 1 research and development center. Accumulated investment by the end of 2022 is 20 billion USD, affirming that Samsung is the largest foreign investor in Vietnam.

Currently, more than 50% of Samsung phones sold worldwide are "Made in Vietnam" products. Through that, Vietnam has developed by leaps and bounds to become a key global country in the production of mobile phones worldwide.

In particular, after the presence of Samsung, the two provinces of Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen, which were heavily dependent on agriculture, have completely changed, becoming the main production bases of information technology equipment.

Furthermore, with the Samsung R&D Center coming into operation from the end of 2022, Samsung is aiming to make it a leading R&D center not only in Southeast Asia, but also globally.

The core mission of this center is to contribute to laying the foundation for Vietnamese technology talent and industrial development. This is very meaningful in the context that Vietnam considers innovation as one of the important growth drivers of the economy.

Samsung's story in Vietnam is an example of "win-win" or as many leaders have commented, "Samsung's success is Vietnam's success".

FDI enterprises need to join hands to "fertilize the land" that nurtures them.

In the trend of global integration, Vietnam cannot be excluded from the impacts caused by economic and political changes in the world. Mr. Choi Joo Ho pointed out major changes in the world such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US-China competition or the global minimum tax rule, which are factors that can threaten the investment and business environment in Vietnam.

In that context, the representative of Samsung Vietnam proposed three contents to enhance competitiveness, further for the sustainable development of Vietnam and FDI enterprises.

Firstly, the Vietnamese Government has continuously improved the investment environment. Since implementing the Doi Moi policy in 1986, Vietnam has continuously improved the investment environment, leading to the continuous expansion of FDI enterprises. The improvement of the investment environment must be carried out continuously to flexibly adapt to changes in the external environment.

The global minimum tax regime is a prime example of the most important recent 'external environmental changes'.

The response of the Vietnamese government to this change is very important. As a mechanism applied by an international organization, specific policies are issued with the agreement of many stakeholders. Therefore, if Vietnam also applies these policies, it can significantly eliminate the instability in the business operations of affected FDI enterprises.

Second, is the implementation of commitments and the building of trust between the Vietnamese Government and enterprises. Citing the story between the Vietnamese Government and Samsung, Mr. Choi Joo Ho emphasized that the serious implementation of commitments between the Vietnamese Government and Samsung is based on the foundation of a deep relationship of mutual trust, and the two sides have formed a relationship that develops in a positive cycle. This is also an experience for other foreign invested enterprises to refer to.

Third, Samsung recommends that foreign invested enterprises continuously carry out social contribution activities in Vietnam.

"It can be said that from the moment of investing in Vietnam, this place has not only been an investment market but has become a 'land' that nurtures businesses. And businesses need to continuously cultivate this land to be able to develop sustainably." - Mr. Choi Joo Ho said.

Foreign invested enterprises cannot just enjoy benefits in Vietnam and then leave, but they need to accompany and develop with the Vietnamese people in the spirit of "harmonious benefits and shared risks".

The head of Samsung Vietnam Complex said that Samsung is allocating to Vietnam a budget for corporate social responsibility activities at the highest level among the countries in which Samsung invests, commensurate with the importance of Vietnam.

Taking advantage of the characteristics of a global information technology enterprise, Samsung is implementing projects such as science and technology training, nurturing talents in vocational fields, and supporting learning for children in difficult circumstances.

If foreign invested enterprises further strengthen their social responsibility activities in Vietnam and accompany Vietnam, the relationship between Vietnam and enterprises will not only stop at business relationships, but also develop into partnerships, able to overcome any difficulties together.

Nguyen Duc

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