Vietnam's government says SpaceX is planning a $1.5 billion investment in the country via Reuters
Written by Khanh Vu and Francesco Guarascio
Hanoi (Reuters) – Elon Musk's SpaceX plans to invest $15 billion in Vietnam in the near future, the communist-run country's government said on Thursday, which could help resolve the impasse over the launch of Starlink satellites there.
Months of negotiations over the provision of Starlink satellite internet and other communications services were halted at the end of 2023, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this year, although they resumed later.
“The Vietnamese government is considering SpaceX's (investment) proposal,” a government official website on Thursday quoted President To Lam as saying, asking the company to work closely on finalizing investment arrangements.
The speech followed the leader's meeting in New York with SpaceX's chief of public affairs, Tim Hughes, who said the company plans to invest 15 billion in Vietnam, a promising market for satellite internet service, the report said.
The government did not specify where the SpaceX investment would be made, or when the details would be approved.
US-based SpaceX did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a request for comment.
With a population of 100 million, Vietnam is a major user base for US Internet companies such as Meta's Facebook (NASDAQ: ) and Alphabet (NASDAQ: ), but its aging equipment could disrupt the operation of vital undersea fiber optic cables.
The huge mountains also make internet services less reliable in Vietnam, which can use satellite internet for tasks such as tight surveillance in the disputed South China Sea where clashes with China are frequent.
Such a move may not go down well with Beijing, however.
WHERE TO PLANT?
Thursday's news follows a report this month on a government website citing Hughes as saying SpaceX intends to provide Starlink services to the Southeast Asian nation, after the two sides resumed talks.
At the time, Hughes, the company's senior vice president for global business and government affairs, said that SpaceX's deployment of Internet services to Vietnam is mainly aimed at achieving education and disaster prevention efforts, state media reported.
Last year's talks were marred by questions about the ownership of the company SpaceX would have to set up in Vietnam, which limits foreign ownership of those companies to half, while SpaceX wants at least a controlling stake, sources told Reuters.
It is not yet clear whether this issue is still pending.
Vietnam also requires data to be kept at home, with strict controls on what is visible online.
Industry sources told Reuters SpaceX has suppliers in Vietnam, a major industrial zone where major operations are carried out by American firms and their contractors.
Apple (NASDAQ:), which has many suppliers in the country, said in April that it wants to invest more money by increasing spending on them.
