Samsung's Vietnamese operations are in a growingly dire need of a break. After one of the largest commercial regions in the country went into yet another COVID-19 lockdown, one of its top rivals—LG—is about to challenge its domestic manufacturing dominance. At least as far as the display panel sector is concerned.
Namely, LG Display just won a license to up its manufacturing investment in Vietnam by the equivalent of $1.4 billion. The move will see it raise its stake in local panel manufacturing by nearly 50%. Up to a total of $4.65 billion.
The South Korean company previously said the expansion is planned to create 10,000 new jobs. It's also viewed as a relatively safe investment, poised to generate approximately $6.5 billion in additional export revenue on an annual basis.
How does Samsung's OLED business compare to LG?
LG's investment is primarily targeted at strengthening its global OLED output. According to internal estimates, the new facility situated in the city of Haiphong, Northern Vietnam, should up its OLED output to between 13 million and 14 million panels per month. Its current production capacity sits at around ten million units. The finer details of the expansion are still scarce as the investment has only been sanctioned this week, according to Hanoi.
Samsung's raw OLED capacities still dwarf that of LG. Apple's business, alone, guarantees sales equal to half a year's worth of LG's production volume in Vietnam. And yet the company can hardly afford to rest on its laurels, especially as far as its economic influence in the Far Eastern country is concerned.
