Vietnam has made progress in climbing up the tech value chain and elevated its importance in final electronics assembly, specializing in finished consumer electronics, the Government News quoted HSBC report “Vietnam at a glance,” released on December 12, as reporting.
Thanks to Samsung's consistent investment as early as 2007, the nation has been transformed into a major manufacturing centre, producing half of Samsung's smartphones, HSBC said.
Vietnam’s share of phone-related exports has seen a notable jump from almost zero in less than 15 years, though it has seen some recent moderation, it added.
Besides consumer electronics, Vietnam is also becoming increasingly important in producing processor ICs – a higher value-add segment than just electronics assembly. This is almost entirely thanks to investment from Intel, which produces 90 percent of global processor chips, according to the bank.
It noted that in 2013, 60 per cent of Vietnam's goods exports to the U.S. were in light manufacturing sectors, like textile, footwear and toy products. Back then, electronics products only accounted for a marginal 13 per cent.
However, the trend has shifted rather swiftly and electronics exports have seen an exponential surge. Since the beginning of 2025, electronics products have exceeded light manufacturing to be the top exports to the U.S. market, HSBC remarked.
According to the bank, while most regional peers have seen notable moderation in their exports to the U.S., Vietnam's export growth remains close to 30 per cent year-on-year on a 3-month-moving-average basis.
During January-November, the U.S. remained the biggest importer of Vietnamese goods with $138.6 billion, reported the National Statistics Office.
In October alone, the country's total export turnover reached $42.05 billion, up 17.5 per cent year-on-year, driven by strong growth in key sectors such as electronics and computers (up 47.9 per cent), phones (4.7 per cent), machinery (12.2 per cent), and transport equipment and parts (13.5 per cent).
By the end of October, cumulative exports in the electronics sector reached $136 billion, setting a record since the industry began exporting. With nearly 50 per cent year-on-year growth, the electronics, computers, and components industry has firmly established itself as a cornerstone of Vietnam's exports.
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