Vietnam smartphone exports fall ahead of Christmas as Samsung cuts output - Yahoo Finance

By Khanh Vu and Phuong Nguyen

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam's smartphone accumulation and exports fell successful November successful the tally up to Christmas income season, according to authoritative data, a caller motion the country's largest manufacturer, Samsung Electronics, is adapting to dwindling planetary demand.

The South Korean electronics elephantine has for years produced astir fractional of its smartphones successful Vietnam and accounts for astir a 5th of the country's wide exports.

The autumn successful output is successful enactment with what manufacture and authorities sources arsenic good arsenic Samsung employees person told Reuters that the institution had precocious chopped its smartphone accumulation successful Vietnam for a 2nd clip this year.

It is unclear if the cuts successful Vietnam bespeak Samsung's wide driblet successful accumulation oregon a displacement to different manufacturing countries.

Samsung, which has invested astir $18 cardinal successful six factories successful Vietnam, with astatine slightest 2 of them focussed connected smartphones, did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

The Southeast Asian country, a determination manufacturing powerhouse, reported a 9.3% diminution successful smartphone output to 20.6 cardinal units successful November from a twelvemonth earlier, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said.

Smartphone output successful the archetypal 11 months of the twelvemonth fell 6.1%. The GSO besides said the worth of Vietnam's smartphone exports successful November fell 1% connected the period and 0.7% from a twelvemonth earlier.

The wider class of user electronics manufacturing dropped astir 20% connected the twelvemonth successful November, GSO information showed, with monthly output slipping for the 3rd consecutive month.

Most smartphones produced successful the state are destined for Western markets, with output usually expanding successful the weeks earlier Christmas. But expectations of little user request this twelvemonth is pushing firms to bounds production.

However, if request remains sustained, the accumulation cuts could exacerbate ostentation successful Europe and different importing regions.

SAMSUNG CUTS

Earlier this month, an manufacture root acquainted with the substance said Samsung "has chopped accumulation significantly" erstwhile again aft it scaled backmost its activities successful Vietnam successful the archetypal fractional of the twelvemonth amid the coronavirus pandemic.

A Vietnam authorities root confirmed Samsung chopped accumulation successful the state doubly this year, with the latest determination apt to bounds Vietnam's publication to the company's planetary output of smartphones to 40% from the emblematic stock of 50%.

Three institution employees successful Vietnam confirmed the cuts, with 1 noting workers were allowed to instrumentality seasonal leaves contempt the approaching Christmas, successful opposition with erstwhile years.

As the state faces headwinds from a planetary slowdown, its wide exports successful November fell 8.4% from a twelvemonth earlier to $29.18 billion, according to the GSO.

Imports besides fell by 7.3%, signalling imaginable further accumulation cuts due to the fact that components and materials utilized for exported products are often imported for assembly successful Vietnam.

(Reporting by Khanh Vu and Phuong Nguyen; Additional reporting by Joyce Lee successful Seoul; Editing by Francesco Guarascio and Arun Koyyur)