Samsung has got a great thing going in Vietnam. The company's factories in Vietnam earned a $1.2 billion profit in the previous quarter. This is also where Samsung phones are made primarily, and the company has made significant investments in other manufacturing facilities there.
Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is due to visit South Korea next month and it's not surprising that a meeting has been penciled in with Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong, considering that Samsung is one of the biggest investors in his country.
Samsung chief and Vietnam PM meet again after 2022
Chinh will be meeting major business leaders during this trip to South Korea. Samsung being the largest conglomerate in South Korea obviously gets a seat at the table, notwithstanding the fact that it remains a major contributor to the Vietnamese economy. In addition to his meeting with Lee Jae-yong, the Vietnamese PM is also expected to visit Samsung's factories in South Korea.
This meeting will follow a recent sit down between Chinh and Park Hark-kyu, Samsung's Chief Financial Officer, last month. Samsung commited to increasing its annual investment in Vietnam significantly. The company's investments in Vietnam already top $22.4 billion, and it's now planning to increase its annual investments in the country by an additional $1 billion.
Samsung currently operates six manufacturing subsidiaries in Vietnam, as well as a sales subsidiary and one R&D center. More than half of the country's smartphones are made in Vietnam. Lee and Chinh last formally met in December 2022 when Samsung's R&D center in Hanoi was being inaugurated.
