Apple supplier Foxconn has signed a $300 million memorandum of understanding with Vietnamese developer Kinh Bac City to expand its facility in the north of the country to diversify and boost production, according to Reuters.
From the article: Foxconn, which has been in Bac Giang for 15 years, has moved part of its iPad and AirPods production to Bac Giang’s Quang Chau Industrial Park, Tuoi Tre reported. It did not say which type of products would be produced at the new factory or its capacity. The Vietnamese government said last year Foxconn had invested $1.5 billion in the Southeast Asian country.
This is a timely move on Foxconn’s part. Apple is in talks to make Apple Watches and MacBooks in Vietnam for the first time, reports Nikkei Asia.
Foxconn and Apple supplier Luxshare Precision Industry and Foxconn have started test production of the smartwatch in northern Vietnam with the aim of producing the device outside of China for the very first time, the article adds, quoting three unnamed “people with direct knowledge of the matter.” Nikkei Asia notes that Vietnam is already Apple’s most important production hub outside of China, producing a range of products including iPads and AirPods.
