Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the Investment Promotion Conference in Hai Phong on Monday. — Photo VNA

HẢI PHÒNG — The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s LG Innotech Co Ltd under the LG Group will invest US$550 million into a project in the northern city of Hải Phòng, according to the Hải Phòng Industrial Zone Management Board.

The plant would turn out 30 million products per month, all for export to supply camera modules to major phones makers, including Apple and LG. Construction of the plant is scheduled to start later this month and is expected to start operations in the third quarter of next year, according to Hải Phòng Economic Zone Authority.

LG Innotek produces dual-camera modules for Apple’s newly released iPhone 7, the first iPhone to feature a dual-lens camera.

The project will cover an area of 10 hectares in Đình Vũ Economic Zone, according to local authorities.

The project is the third invested by LG in the city, bringing the group’s total investment in Hải Phòng to about $3.35 billion.

The first was a $1.5 billion facility producing electronic home appliances, which was put into operation in March 2015, and the second, also worth $1.5 billion, was licensed in early April this year to make OLED displays. Both of them are in Tràng Duệ IZ.

Hải Phòng is one of the country’s top performers in foreign direct investment attraction alongside Hà Nội, southern Bình Dương and Đồng Nai provinces, and HCM City.

As of August, the city has attracted more than $11 billion in foreign direct investment in 2016.

Korea is one of Việt Nam’s top trade partners and investors, playing a major role in the development of high-tech industries here.

The RoK is currently the third largest trade partner of Việt Nam, while Việt Nam is also the RoK’s third largest importer.
Two-way trade has surged 75-fold from 1992 to nearly $38 billion. The RoK is also the biggest investor in Việt Nam with nearly 4,800 projects worth around $45 billion .- VNS