Note7 recall not to influence Samsung Vietnam much

The company is confident that its exports this year will still increase compared to US$32.7 billion in export turnover in 2015. 

It also assured that there will not be any lay-offs, adding that there are about 110,000 workers at Samsung’s factories in Vietnam at present. 

According to the company, Galaxy Note7 was manufactured not only in Vietnam, but also in the Republic of Korea and China. Aside from Galaxy Note7, the factories in the northern provinces of Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen also produce many other phones such as S7, S7 Edge, Galaxy A and Galaxy J, along with tablets. 

Samsung Vietnam said it gives top priority to customers' interests and safety. It stopped the Note7 exchange programme on October 12 and has begun to refund the entire VND18.99 million (US$844) to each Galaxy Note7 buyer from October 18 to November 18. 

It is also offering a VND1.5 million voucher to each customer to buy new Samsung products. Customers can also borrow another Samsung smartphone for temporary use if they have not bought another phone yet.

Nguyen Mai, Chairman of Vietnam’s Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises, said the recall of Galaxy Note7 may cause a loss of US$1.75 billion to Samsung. 

Meanwhile, the firm expects the plants in Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen to generate US$34.7 billion in revenue this year. This means the loss is not too much, at around 0.5% – 1%, he noted. 

The export value of phones and phone components reached US$2.4 billion  in September, down 17.4% month on month, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs. 

That adds up to the nine-month figure of US$24.96 billion, rising by 8.6% from a year earlier and accounting for 19.5% of the nation’s total export value of US$128.21 billion during the period.