Vietnamese EV maker VinFast said it will start investing in the Philippines this year, commencing with the establishment of a network of electric car and motorcycle dealerships.
The scope of investment might span across potential cooperation in developing public services such as buses and taxis as well as training students in artificial intelligence and medicine, VinFast said in a statement.
The Philippines is revamping its transportation sector, phasing out ageing combustion engine vehicles and implementing a modernisation plan, according to the statement. The country has already enacted laws that support electric vehicles (EVs) and encourage importing EV components, aiming to attract foreign investors for domestic assembly.
“The Philippines is fortunate to have all the necessary ingredients to produce batteries for electric vehicles, with abundant reserves of cobalt, copper, and nickel. However, it has still been exporting raw ores. The government is working to increase the value of the Philippine economy by processing them domestically and expects to be able to establish a battery factory,” said Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr during his recent visit in Hanoi, Vietnam.
VinFast said its investment in the Philippines is part of its ambition to garner a presence in at least 50 countries this year, with Southeast Asia designated as the key market.
The company earlier announced earlier plans to invest at least $1.2 billion in Indonesia to distribute vehicles and establish an EV manufacturing plant. That followed a $2-billion plan to build EV and battery plants in India.
VinFast’s $2-billion facility in the US, along with its first local manufacturing base, delivered over 13,500 vehicles in Q4 2023, bringing its total sales globally to nearly 42,300 vehicles.
VinFast was founded in 2017 by Vietnamese billionaire founder Pham Nhat Vuong, who tried to diversified his portfolio from real estate and retail in the country.
The EV maker had an initial public offering in the US last August with an intended $23-billion valuation. The market capitalisation of the company touched as high as $191 billion only a few days after its debut but has since skidded to around $14 billion currently.