Hanoi, March 2 (IANS) Samsung Electronics Co. said on Monday that it has started building a research and development (R&D) centre in Vietnam.

Samsung said it will invest $220 million to complete the R&D centre in Hanoi by the end of 2022, Yonhap news agency reported.

The R&D centre in Hanoi, a 16-storey building, will be the largest R&D facility in Southeast Asia, the company added.

Once the centre is completed, Samsung said its R&D workforce in Vietnam is expected to grow to 3,000 people.

Since establishing a mobile phone manufacturing plant in Bac Ninh, north Vietnam, in 2008, Samsung has been aggressively investing in the country.

The Samsung Group is one of the largest foreign investors in Vietnam, with an investment totalling $17 billion.

Samsung was supposed to hold a ground-breaking ceremony for the centre on Saturday but decided to cancel the event due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. (IANS)