Samsung Electronics has started building a $220 million research and development center in Vietnam.
Samsung has cancelled a ground-breaking ceremony, scheduled for this past Saturday, due to a virus outbreak that led to travel restrictions on South Koreans, Hong Sun, the vice chairman of Korea Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, told Reuters.

Samsung will complete the construction of the center in Hanoi by the end of 2022, Samsung Vietnam said in a statement. Samsung will employ between 2,200 and 3,000 people at the center.

Samsung is the single largest foreign investor in Vietnam, with investments totalling $17 billion.

The center would be the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia and will enhance the company’s research capability in such areas as artificial intelligence, internet of things, big data and 5G, Samsung said.

The Vietnamese government earlier on Monday announced the commencement of building of the R&D center.

Vietnam’s exports of smartphones and spare parts, mostly produced by Samsung Electronics, rose 4.4 percent last year to $51.38 billion, according to government customs data.