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Vietnam asks Samsung to find it some COVID-19 vaccines

(2021/05/31)


Vietnam’s government has asked Samsung to find COVID-19 vaccinations to protect workers in provinces that are home to industrial parks, a request that reflects the co-dependence between the Korean Chaebol and the rapidly developing nation.

The call for Samsung’s help came as Vietnam on Saturday [1]announced detection of a COVID-19 strain “combining characteristics of the two existing variants first found in India and the UK”. Local authorities rated the variant “very dangerous”, suggesting it could be a contributor to a fourth wave of infections that have in recent weeks seen over 3,000 verified new cases – more than half of Vietnam’s whole-of-pandemic total of 6,713 recorded infections.

As a result of the new wave, the nation’s largest city, Ho Chi Minh City will go into a 15-day lockdown on May 31st to control the spread of the virus.

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On Sunday Prime minister Pham Minh Chinh singled out the provinces of Bac Ninh and Bac Giang as requiring special action and vigilance. The two regions are to the northeast of Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, and are home to many of the nation's electronics manufacturing factories. As that industry is the nation’s biggest export earner and sees tens of thousands of people work in close proximity, it is an obvious risk. That many workers commute from Hanoi is also of concern.

Samsung operates facilities in both provinces and detected COVID-infected staff in its Bac Giang plant.

Vietnam’s government has implemented a raft of safety measures to be implemented at the two provinces’ extensive industrial parks.

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And the prime minister has also called on Samsung, alongside local authorities, to find vaccines for deployment in the provinces.

[6]Vietnam’s biggest industrial conglomerate quits smartphones and TV biz, bets on electric cars

[7]Vietnam reveals state-run Alibaba-and-Amazon alternative, aims it at the EU

[8]Vietnam pursues ten-year AI plan, aspires to crack world’s top 50 for R&D by 2030

[9]Samsung shows off rollable and foldable displays, suggests they'll arrive in 2022

Vietnam has singled out Samsung because the Korean company employs over 150,000 locals and is the largest foreign investor in the country. A certain co-dependence exists between the two: Samsung relies on Vietnam for manufacturing expertise, while Vietnam relies on Samsung as an employer and source of export revenue.

Samsung Vietnam last week [10]donated 1,000 food packages, following from a 2020 donation of personal protective equipment, so the company is clearly willing to contribute.

With COVID-19 surging in Vietnam and details of the new variant due to be released soon, Samsung could soon find itself having to make larger contributions to sustain important facilities. ®

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[1] http://news.chinhphu.vn/Home/Viet-Nam-detects-COVID19-variant-combining-Indian-British-mutations/20215/44009.vgp

[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YLRfXfdyFbf6Zs0w2nmJBQAAAMQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YLRfXfdyFbf6Zs0w2nmJBQAAAMQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YLRfXfdyFbf6Zs0w2nmJBQAAAMQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YLRfXfdyFbf6Zs0w2nmJBQAAAMQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/11/vingroup_quits_electronics_chases_evs/

[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/09/vietnam_plans_a_state_alibaba/

[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/24/vietnam_ai_strategy/

[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/18/samsung_bets_on_rollable_and/

[10] https://news.samsung.com/vn/nha-may-sevt-ung-ho-1-000-phan-qua-cho-tuyen-dau-chong-dich-covid-19-tai-thai-nguyen

[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/

By the middle 1880's, practically all the roads except those in
the South, were of the present standard gauge. The southern roads were
still five feet between rails.
It was decided to change the gauge of all southern roads to standard,
in one day. This remarkable piece of work was carried out on a Sunday in May
of 1886. For weeks beforehand, shops had been busy pressing wheels in on the
axles to the new and narrower gauge, to have a supply of rolling stock which
could run on the new track as soon as it was ready. Finally, on the day set,
great numbers of gangs of track layers went to work at dawn. Everywhere one
rail was loosened, moved in three and one-half inches, and spiked down in its
new position. By dark, trains from anywhere in the United States could operate
over the tracks in the South, and a free interchange of freight cars everywhere
was possible.
-- Robert Henry, "Trains", 1957