Vietnam ranks 7th in the world in the number of production facilities for Apple.

During the 2016-2022 period, the number of factories located by Apple's partners in Vietnam increased from 16 to 27, ranking second in the region and seventh in the world .

According to a list released by Apple as of May, its top 200 suppliers have expanded a series of production locations for the company in 2022, especially in Southeast Asia, India and South Asia.

In Southeast Asia alone, Vietnam has the fastest growing number of manufacturing facilities. From 18 in 2016, the number of Apple partner factories here has increased to 27 in 2022, just behind Thailand - which currently has 28 manufacturing facilities for Apple. Vietnam also surpassed three other countries in Southeast Asia: Malaysia (25 facilities), Singapore (21 facilities) and the Philippines (19 facilities).

Overall, Vietnam ranks 7th on the list. Most of the partners with factories in Vietnam are familiar names, such as Foxconn, Luxshare or component suppliers such as Samsung, Intel, LG.

Meanwhile, China is still the place with the most Apple partners setting up factories in 2022 with 276 facilities, up from 262 in 2021, but down sharply from 346 in 2016. Japan is in second place with 124 facilities, followed by the US with 62 facilities. India, from one initial factory in 2016, has now increased sharply to 14.

"The new list shows that Apple has begun to diversify its production locations, especially in South Asia and Southeast Asia. This is a sign of the US company's expansion, preparing for a separate global manufacturing ecosystem," Digitimes commented.

Vietnam and India are considered two attractive destinations for Apple. Apple is moving part of its iPhone production line to India, and has also opened its first Apple Store to attract users and increase its presence.

Vietnam currently has large factories specializing in processing Apple devices. According to data from JP Morgan in September 2022, Vietnam could become an important production area for the US company, mainly assembling AirPods, iPads and Apple Watches. By 2025, Vietnam is expected to contribute 20% of total iPad and Apple Watch production, 5% of MacBooks and 65% of AirPods.

A Luxshare factory in Bac Giang . Photo: Luxshare-ICT/Facebook

Factories in Vietnam are assembling many important products in the global mobile market, such as a series of devices from Samsung, Xiaomi, Apple. However, Vietnam's difficulty is that it lacks companies that act as major partners in the supply chain. Among Apple's existing suppliers, there is not a single Vietnamese facility. "The question is whether Vietnam can develop its own potential or just as an 'assembly platform' valued mainly for its cheap labor," FT commented in an article late last year.

Vnexpress.net