Xiaomi Delivers First Batch of Handsets Made in Vietnam to Boost Smartphone Production in South Asia

China's Xiaomi has produced its first batch of smartphones in Vietnam, the company said on Thursday, as it seeks to expand its foothold in Southeast Asia.

The devices were produced at a factory in the province of Thai Nguyen, north of the capital Hanoi, the company said in an emailed statement. The plant is operated by Xiaomi's partner, DBG Technology.

Vietnam has in recent years become a regional manufacturing hub for global electronics makers. The export value of smartphones from the country, mostly produced by Samsung Electronics, rose 12.4 percent last year to $57.5 billion (roughly Rs. 4,55,070 crore).

Xiaomi said the first batch of its smartphones made in Vietnam had been sent to a local distributor, adding it would soon export smartphones to other Southeast Asian markets, including Malaysia and Thailand.

The company did not provide further details on its production capacity in Vietnam.

Xiaomi is not the only company looking to boost production outside of China. Last month, Apple began moving some iPad production to Vietnam due to ongoing supply chain disruptions — the first time that the Cupertino company shifted manufacturing of its iPad models out of China. One of the major reasons for Apple to move its iPad manufacturing to Vietnam is to overcome the restrictions that emerged due to strict COVID-19 lockdowns in Shanghai and other cities of the country.

Over the past decade, South Korean smartphone giant Samsung has already shifted much of its smartphone production to Vietnam, where it makes over 50 percent of its phones and has so far seen little production disruption. Its Gumi factory in South Korea — which was briefly shut down during the pandemic in 2020 — makes up for a small portion of its total output.