Samsung Electronics plans to invest 105.79 trillion Vietnamese dong ($4.09 billion) in memory-chip testing facilities at Yen Binh Industrial Park, Thai Nguyen, the Korea Herald reported on 11 October 2026, citing an investment plan submitted to local authorities [1]. Reuters (May) and Seoul Economic Daily (5 October) reported it earlier [2][3].
Reported (company documents seen by the press). TSN found no Samsung statement; Samsung declined to comment to Reuters in May [2].
What is reported
- The first line starts in the fourth quarter of 2027, another in 2028 [1].
- The plants would do final testing of DRAM and NAND flash chips packaged at Samsung’s Cheonan plant in Korea. They would not make wafers [1].
- About 63 percent of the money, 66.64 trillion dong, is to come from reinvested profits of Samsung’s Vietnamese operations, so it depends on future earnings [1]. Reuters put the first plant at 39 trillion dong ($1.5 billion) [2].
Back end versus fab (TSN background)
A fab builds a chip’s circuits on silicon wafers. The “back end” cuts the wafer into chips, seals each in a protective package and tests it, which is less sophisticated than fabrication [2]. Here, testing means checking that data is read and written at normal speed, stressing chips with heat and high voltage, and removing faulty ones [3].
Why Vietnam
Samsung has made smartphones in Thai Nguyen since 2013 [1]. The aim, says Seoul Economic Daily, is a second export base in case Korean sites are disrupted [3]. A professor told the Korea Herald it may keep high-value memory such as HBM in Korea and move conventional memory to Vietnam; Samsung has not said how volumes will be split [1].
The substrate plan
On 29 September Samsung Electro-Mechanics announced 6.78 trillion won for FC-BGA substrates: 4.27 trillion at Sejong, Korea, and 2.51 trillion in Vietnam [4]. An FC-BGA substrate is the small board a processor sits on, linking it to the main board and carrying signals and power [4]. Sejong mass production is due September 2028; Vietnam is to run by June 2030 [4].
Checking the sums
4.27 + 2.51 = 6.78. The Korea Herald’s 12.26 trillion won minus 6.78 leaves 5.48 trillion, matching Seoul Economic Daily’s won value for the dong total [3]. Add 2.51 and Vietnam gets about 7.99 trillion: “nearly 8 trillion won”. Most of Samsung Electronics’ share, though, is the profit-funded part. The dollar figure implies about 25,900 dong a dollar; Seoul Economic Daily says $3.9 billion.
What is not known
- Confirmation. No Samsung release or comment found.
- Permits. Reuters: approved in March, but unclear whether all permits are in place [2].
- Jobs. No figure in any source.
- Scope. What testing covers, and whether Vietnam adds to or replaces Korean testing [1].
Sources
- Jie Ye-eun, “Samsung to expand chip capacity in Vietnam, boost high-end production in Korea”, The Korea Herald, 11 October 2026 (newspaper; cites an investment plan submitted to local authorities). https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10898561
- Reuters, “Samsung plans $1.5 billion chip testing plant in Vietnam, document shows”, 27 May 2026 (read via CNBC). https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/27/samsung-plans-1point5-billion-chip-testing-plant-in-vietnam-document-shows-reuters.html
- Koo Kyung-woo and Lee Seok-jin, “Samsung to Build DRAM, NAND Back-End Hub in Vietnam”, Seoul Economic Daily, 5 October 2026 (original reporting on documents submitted to Thai Nguyen authorities). https://en.sedaily.com/finance/2026/10/05/samsung-builds-chip-test-hub-in-vietnam-to-diversify-export
- Samsung Electro-Mechanics, press release, 29 September 2026 (company release). https://samsungsem.com/global/newsroom/news/view.do?id=10562
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