Leaders of LG Electronics of Korea join the opening ceremony of its new office and R&D Centre in Da Nang city. The Korean giant plans to turn the R&D centre into the biggest centre in Viet Nam for global supply chains. — VNS Photo Cong Thanh

South Korea’s LG Electronics marked its strategic expansion in central Viet Nam by inaugurating a new office and R&D centre in the central city in a ceremony on Wednesday.

The Korean giant plans to turn the LG Vehicle Component Solutions Development Centre Viet Nam – the second R&D centre in Viet Nam – into the biggest in Viet Nam in software research and production in serving electronics manufacturing and automobile industries around the world.

Director of LG Vehicle Component Solution Development centre, Jung Seung Min, said: "Established in 2016, the first LG Vehicle Component Solutions Development Centre Viet Nam was formed in Ha Noi and has achieved a lot of success in the process of marking the mark on the technology map in the field of automation in Viet Nam and Southeast Asia.

“In order to expand the scale of operations, LG Group's leadership decided to establish a new research and development (R&D) centre and selected Da Nang city is the next destination,” he said.

He said LG has inked education training co-operation deals with colleges of Duy Tan, Da Nang Science and Technology, Viet Nam-Korea Information Technology and Communications in providing human resources for future development.

Ahn Min Sik, head of the Korean Consulate General in Da Nang, said the introduction of LG’s R&D centre in Da Nang was a typical symbol of close co-operation between Viet Nam and South Korea.

“Korean investors previously concentrated in north and south of Viet Nam, but the presence of LG in Da Nang would spark the move of Korean investment to central Viet Nam in the coming years,” he said.

“We hope more Korean businesses would flock to the central region to seek investment opportunities in boosting Da Nang as an attractive Information Technology and Communications hub of Viet Nam.”

Earlier, LG Electronics also inked in series co-operation deals with the city’s Investment Promotion Agency and Trung Nam Land joint-stock company in transforming Da Nang into the centre of technology and R&D in Viet Nam and a 'Silicon Valley'.

Last month, the first surface-mount technology (SMT) factory with three production lines began manufacturing electronic products and printed circuit boards for export at the Da Nang Hi-tech Park.

Korea is one of the top five foreign investors in Da Nang with 232 projects worth $390 million.

In 2019, Dentium, the first hi-tech Korean investor at the Da Nang Hi-Tech Park, began manufacturing products used in healthcare services. — VNS