Customers try using a new Samsung smartphone to take a selfie at a Samsung phone launch. Phones and phone parts continued to be the biggest export earner in the first eight months this year

This revenue was much higher than the three products that used to generate the highest export revenues in previous years, which are apparel that brought US$1.63 billion in January-August this year, footwear with US$8.53 billion and crude oil with US$9.63 billion.

Apart from the major contribution of the phone manufacturing complex of Samsung in the northern province of Bac Ninh, other new factories such as Samsung Electronics Vietnam Thai Nguyen (SEVT) in the northern province of Thai Nguyen and the Nokia factory in Bac Ninh have also contributed significantly to the phone export revenue.

After three months of operation, SEVT had exported more than US$2 billion worth of smartphones and tablets by the end of June.

Two years before spending on import of phone components often rose when there was a pickup in phone export, but now things have changed. The import bill for phone components in the first eight months declined 0.7% year-on-year to US$5.1 billion.

Industry observers said Samsung has an increasing number of suppliers within the country and that Nokia is boosting investments in Vietnam to meet demand for components for cellphone production by itself and Samsung. Samsung and Nokia also produce components for the local market, thus helping to reduce the market’s dependence on imports.

They predicted export revenue from phones and components would keep rising in the coming years when phone producers expand their operations in Vietnam.

SEVT looks to offer jobs for around 22,000 laborers, and obtain US$8 billion revenue this year and US$12 billion next year.

Around 35% of Samsung phones on the world market are assembled and produced at its Vietnam facilities and the South Korean manufacturer is working towards increasing the proportion to 50% in the coming time.

Having purchased the phone unit of Nokia, Microsoft plans to transfer all or part of Nokia’s phone production factories in China, Hungary and Mexico to Vietnam.

The Nokia factory in Bac Ninh is focusing on producing Windows smartphones at the moment and will switch to making other types of smartphone by the year-end for global markets.

South Korean electronics giant LG also plans to build an electronics and phone factory in Vietnam