May 23, 2023 | 07:00:00 GMT+7 | Weather 19°
Follow us:
70th anniversary of Hanoi's Liberation Day Vietnam - Asia 2023 Smart City Summit Hanoi celebrates 15 years of administrative boundary adjustment 12th Vietnam-France decentrialized cooperation conference 31st Sea Games - Vietnam 2021 Covid-19 Pandemic
Aug 16, 2018 / 11:06

Tesla battery maker eyes investment in HCM City

The project is expected to have an investment of US$500 million, according to the head of Saigon Hi-tech Park (SHTP).

SHTP is in the process of convincing a Silicon Valley-based company specializing in making batteries for Tesla's electric vehicles to invest in Ho Chi Minh City, VnExpress reported. 
 
Illustrative photo. Source: Getty Images.
Illustrative photo. Source: Getty Images.
"We have had several meetings with this company. They are considering various options, including our land rent fee and incentives. At present, Ho Chi Minh City and another location in the Philippines are their two shortlisted options," said Le Hoai Quoc, director of SHTP's management board. 

If the company in subject chooses SHTP as its investment destination, the hi-tech park could approve license for investment right in this year, Quoc said, adding the investment project is expected to have capital of US$500 million. 

"Battery for Tesla's car is a complicated product which very few can produce. The company's battery is qualified for the US government's environmental criteria," Quoc added. 

In July, electric car producer Tesla announced its intention of building the company's first factory outside the US in Shanghai, China with annual capacity of 500,000 cars. Currently, Tesla only has one auto factory in Fremont, California. 
 
For Tesla's first factory in China, Southeast Asia would be a viable option for the company's suppliers establishing their footholds, thanks to cheap labor force compared with China. 

SHTP, for its record, has attract US$-billion projects from leading multinational companies, including Intel, Samsung or Nidec. 

Excluding the potential battery project for Tesla, SHTP sets target of attracting capital investment of US$600 million in 2018, and contributing 30% of the city's export turnover. 

In 2017, each employee at SHTP created an average value of US$300,000, 15 times higher than that of others in Vietnam's industrial parks, averaging added value growth of 23% over the last five years.