Samsung could double-down on Vietnam by 2017 Workers at Samsung's cell phone factory in Bac Ninh Province, northern Vietnam. Photo: Mai Phuong Samsung has offered to raise its investment in Vietnam to US$20 billion in 2017 if their existing business here goes smoothly, according to a new government report. The South Korean giant has become Vietnam’s biggest foreign investor with over $12.6 billion in registered capital. According to a report prepared by the Ministry of Investment and Planning, the giant is considering a major role in Vietnam's infrastructure projects. The company has signed an MOU with the Ministry of Industry and Trade about building a 1,200-megawatt thermal power plant in the central province of Ha Tinh. It is expected to release a final feasibility study on the $2.45 billion project next year. Samsung has also expressed interest in the planned Long Thanh Airport in Dong Nai Province, according to a recent story published in Thoi Bao Kinh Te Saigon Online. The government approved the airport project over concerns about its $7.8 billion price tag and plans to use public funds to cover half the cost and raise the rest through government bonds and ODA loans. Samsung said it wants to participate in the construction of terminals in addition to providing ground services and operating duty-free shops at the airport. At present, the state-owned Airports Corporation of Vietnam exercises exclusive oversight for ground services and stores at other airports. Samsung is also negotiating with the military-run Viettel, a dominant telecommunication firm in Vietnam, to develop a smart management system for local bus and healthcare services. The company also plans to raise $2.6-2.8 billion to turn a 300 hectare lot in the south central province of Khanh Hoa Province into one of the world's ten biggest shipyards. The ministry’s report asked the government to order the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and various provincial governments to consider Samsung’s offer. The report said all the projects are “suitable” for Vietnam’s development plan. Samsung invested $5.4 billion in Vietnam this year--a sum equivalent to 31 percent of all foreign direct investment during the first 11 months of the year. In November, it secured a license to invest $3 billion in its handset business in the northern province of Thai Nguyen. The company received approval for a $1.4 billion electronics factory in Ho Chi Minh City’s hi-tech park in September and a $1 billion screen factory in the northern province of Bac Ninh in June. Thanh Nien News