The head of Samsung Electronics in Vietnam has said that his mission is to transform the Samsung R&D Center in Hanoi into the company's top global research and development facility.
"The first mission is to expand its research activities and enhance expertise," Samsung's Vietnam chief, Choi Joo Ho said at a conference on Sunday.
The conglomerate opened the US$220-million research center in Hanoi last December.
At the opening ceremony, Samsung said that the facility would transform Vietnam from a global production hub to a strategic research and development hub, Vietnam-based VnExpress reports.
The head of Samsung Vietnam Complex, Choi, said the second mission is to help develop technology talent and industry in Vietnam.
To achieve this, Samsung intends to increase training through internships and scholarships for promising tech students, as well as collaboration with universities, he said.
"We wish to strengthen our partnership with Vietnamese businesses to help them develop and become part of Samsung's global value chain," he added.
By the end of 2022, the number of Vietnamese tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers in Samsung's global supply chain had increased to 257, 10 times the number in 2014.
Since 2015 experts from Samsung Korea have worked with some 400 Vietnamese companies to improve their product quality, according to VnExpress.
Samsung established its first smartphone factory in Vietnam in 2008 and has invested $18.2 billion so far. The figure could rise to $20 billion by the end of this year.
The company makes around half of all its smartphones in the country.
