The California-based tech giant has decided therisks of depending heavily on manufacturing in China are too great, and it hasasked major suppliers including Foxconn, Pagatron, Wistron, Quanta Computer andCompal Electronics to evaluate the cost of shifting 15-30 percent of productioncapacity from China to Southeast Asia.

Economist Nguyen Dinh Anh told a Sputnik reporter that if Vietnam is selected,the domestic economy will be boosted while the country will have a chance toincrease its prestige in the global economy.

Improvements will be seen in several macro-economic indicators such as GDP,import-export revenue, jobs, and State budget collection, he said, adding thatApple will help give a more modern and industrial look to localities.

Apple’s shift of its production base away from China had already been forecast,and Vietnam is on the firm’s top list of new destinations thanks to variousconditions, Anh said, pointing out geographical location as an advantage forVietnam.

With stable politics, being open to trade, a stable economy and good control ofinflation, Vietnam has it all to satisfy both domestic and foreign investors.

Anh also noted the Government’s preferential policies in land access, capitaland taxes as attractive to foreign firms, as is the country’s 60-million strongand young workforce.

“Its rival, Samsung, has been successful in Vietnam, thus Apple will haveabsolutely no regrets when moving production to the country,” he said.

Vietnamese businesses are developing at a faster pace than ever before, andmany of them are able to join the global value chain and play an important rolein the supporting industry.

Local infrastructure facilities are being completed in line with internationalstandards, while living quality has been improved to meet satisfaction ofexperts and senior managers from the world’s leading corporations. -VNA

iPhone 7 becoming dirt cheap in Vietnam

Previous-generation iPhone models have seen prices dropping dramatically over the last two months. A used iPhone 7 32 GB is selling at VND4.5 million, or approximately $200.

Used iPhone XS arrives, sells at sky-high price

Used iPhone XS are available at many private shops in Vietnam at the surprisingly high price of VND19 million.

Previous-generation iPhone models drop in price, rise in demand

Following official price adjustments of a series of next-generation models, including XS, XS Max and XR, the prices of previous-generation models available at private shops have also dropped sharply.