Hon Hai Group: A New Milestone for Taiwanese Investors

 

Foxconn’s first arrival in Vietnam was the visit of group chairman in late December 2006. Immediately, he decided to invest in Vietnam. Foxconn picked Bac Ninh province for its first destination for its projects in Vietnam. Two factories, with initial investment capital of US$163 million, were built on 1.1 hectares in Que Vo Industrial Park in March 2007. The facilities were installed with equipment and started trial operation in late August 2007. This is a record short time for such a big project in Vietnam, less than six months from the ground-breaking to operation.

 

Foxconn is also preparing to build a human resources training centre in Bac Ninh. Mr James Lee, vice chairman and financial chief of Foxconn said, “The factories will operate very quickly when human resources are sufficient. Thus, the group is in need of human resources, especially engineers and high-tech workers for Vietnamese-based factories. In the coming time, we will recruit 3,000 engineers from Ho Chi Minh City to train in Taiwan.”

 

Terry Guo, chairman of Foxconn, said his group also planned to build a high-tech city in Bac Ninh. The expected area is 80 square kilometres. This is an environment protecting and energy-saving urban zone, with half the area for ecological systems, 12 square kilometres for high-tech factories, 23 square kilometres for commercial and residential areas, and five square kilometres for golf courses and entertainment centres. The investment capital for this project is estimated at over US$1 billion, which is not a part of the US$5 billion licensed for investment in Vietnam.

 

Apart from the Bac Ninh projects, Foxconn also invested in Bac Giang province. Fuhong Mechanical Co. Ltd under Foxconn has invested in building electronic equipment and moulders in Dong Vang Auto Industrial Complex in Viet Yen district. The factory needed an initial US$10 million and now US$33 million. It can make 120,000 products a year. Foxconn also recently obtained an investment licence from Binh Dinh Province People’s Committee to develop a 700-hectare industrial zone. Foxconn also signed an investment cooperation agreement with Ho Chi Minh City, Haiphong City and Vinh Phuc Province. Especially, Foxconn inked a cooperation agreement with Saigon Investment Group (SGI) under which SGI will become a strategic and unique partner of Foxconn projects in Vietnam.

 

Foxconn, set up in 1974, now has revenue of US$45 billion a year. It employs 500,000 workers. For the past five years Foxconn has held a place among the top ten IT firms in the world. The goal of Foxconn is to become the largest foreign investor in Vietnam and the largest single exporter in the country, with annual export earnings of US$5 billion in the next 3-5 years.