Opportunities for Vietnam amid Chinese investment wave

On May 15, vice president of Huawei Group responsible for the Asia-Pacific region Zhengjun Zhang shared with Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang his keen interest in Huawei's participation in developing 5G networks, digital transformation, AI, and green transformation in Vietnam.

Earlier, during a session with Chinese businesses in the green development and digital economy sectors on May 14, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasised, “Vietnam's government is committed to listening, supporting, and creating favourable conditions for effective, long-term, and sustainable investment of foreign enterprises in Vietnam. Their success is Vietnam's success.”

Yadea Company built the first foreign-owned electric motorcycle manufacturing plant in Vietnam in 2019 in Bac Giang province. The company is constructing its second factory with total capital of over $100 million, and expects it to be completed by 2025.

Liu Jia, general director of Yadea for the Asia-Pacific region, said, "In the future, we will establish an research and development (R&D) development centre for the entire Southeast Asia region in Vietnam. Products manufactured in Vietnam will be for domestic consumption and export."

Companies at the beginning and end of Chinese industrial chains are also encouraging others to invest in Vietnam and establish integrated supply chains for production and business operations.

Yang Yong, general director of Talway Vietnam Co., Ltd., said, "We use about 40-50 per cent of raw materials and components purchased in Vietnam, and about 20-30 per cent of our suppliers are Vietnamese enterprises."

Beijing-based BOE Group in early April received permission from Ba Ria-Vung Tau province to invest in a smart terminal equipment factory in Phu My 3 Industrial Park. With a total investment of $277.5 million, the Chinese group will assemble and produce screens for computers, TVs, electronic price boards, and motherboards. BOE is expected to recruit thousands of Vietnamese labourers in 2026 for its second project in Vietnam.

This vibrant Chinese investment is also flowing into northern provinces. On April 4, Geleximco Group and the new energy vehicle brand Omoda & Jaecoo signed a joint venture agreement to build a factory in Thai Binh province with a capital of over $800 million and a capacity of 200,000 vehicles per year.

In Bac Ninh province alone, more than half of the 105 foreign-invested projects licensed in the first quarter of 2024 were from China.

This Chinese investment wave will help meet the demand for components of terminal product manufacturers in Vietnam, and allow domestic enterprises to join the Chinese supply chain.

The China-based display maker Beijing Oriental Electronics Group (BOE) is set to invest $300 million in Vietnam's smart terminal project.

Chinese companies are gearing up to establish connections with Vietnamese businesses at the Economic and Technological Programme for Lancang-Mekong Cooperation.

Hoang Thinh Dat JSC and Chinese firm Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. signed an MoU on March 26 to develop a solar panel factory in the Hoang Mai II Industrial Park, located in Southeast Economic Zone of the central province of Nghe An.