Vietnam, globalisation and Samsung's investment
A sourced example of how global trade and Samsung's transnational production connect Vietnam to international markets, with gains and limits for domestic value capture. Confirm that your centre selected Vietnam and Samsung.
Section CASE-9.2.6 · Vietnam and Samsung · optional globalisation and TNC example
Exam scope and assessment notes
Cambridge IGCSE (9–1) Geography 0976, 2027–2029 syllabus, Topic 9.2.6. The syllabus does not prescribe one universal set of named detailed specific examples: centres select places suited to their learners. Sixteen optional StudyForA evidence packs now cover all sixteen example objectives, but the centre's choices are unconfirmed. Match each pack to your centre's chosen place and replace any mismatch before treating the course as complete. Original StudyForA explanations and self-check practice are not Cambridge papers, official grades or teacher-marked coursework. Map, graph and written answers are not automatically assessed. Paper 4 practice uses supplied or invented data and cannot certify safe fieldwork, equipment use or real data collection. Centre-set coursework and specialist teacher review remain pending. This is the separate 9–1 qualification. Cambridge limits this 9–1 syllabus to certain zones: in June it is available in Administrative Zone 3 and for centres in Oman and the UAE; in November it is available in Zone 3 only. Confirm the exam series and entry with your centre. Cambridge also says an entry cannot be switched from 9–1 to A*–G after the entries deadline.
Before you begin
- No previous Geography course is assumed. Use the supplied map, data or scenario; distinguish observation from explanation and support conclusions with evidence.
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
What makes Samsung a transnational corporation in this example?
What you will learn
- Explain how foreign investment, trade and supply chains connect Vietnam to globalisation
- Use dated evidence about Samsung's operations and exports
- Assess benefits and limitations for workers, firms and the wider economy
- Recommend ways to strengthen domestic supply-chain links
Globalisation connects production across borders
Vietnam participates in global trade through export-oriented factories, foreign direct investment, transport links and trade agreements. Components can be sourced internationally, assembled in Vietnam and sold to customers around the world. This connects local jobs and production decisions to international demand and supply chains.
Samsung began manufacturing investment in Vietnam in 2008. A Vietnamese government industry agency reported that by the end of 2024 the company had six factories, a research and development centre and a sales entity across several cities and provinces; implemented investment was about US$23.2 billion. Its six factories reported US$62.5 billion in revenue and US$54.4 billion in exports in 2024. These are company-specific, dated figures reported by the agency.
Investment creates opportunities, but value is not shared automatically
Samsung's production supports direct employment and demand for suppliers, logistics, energy and services. The same government report said Samsung employed more than 45,000 people in Bac Ninh and that the province had over 70 tier-one Samsung suppliers. Research and export operations can build skills and connect Vietnamese production to global markets.
However, foreign firms can dominate export growth while domestic firms capture a smaller share of high-value activities. The World Bank reports that foreign firms accounted for 73% of Vietnam's exports and that domestic business participation in global value chains fell from 35% in 2009 to 18% in 2023. These national figures are not Samsung-only measures. Higher-value research, design, components and services can remain elsewhere, while export concentration makes local jobs more exposed to global demand and business decisions.
Policies can deepen domestic links
The World Bank recommends supplier-development programmes, finance for supply-chain participation, stronger business conditions and upgrading to higher-value activities. For Samsung and other TNCs, training and local procurement can help Vietnamese firms meet quality, delivery and technology requirements. Benefits should be judged by domestic value added, wage and skill progression, environmental standards, resilience and how much locally owned firms gain, not export totals alone.
Vietnam's case is therefore mixed: globalisation has supported investment, production, employment and exports, while dependence on foreign firms and limited domestic value-chain links can restrict how much value stays in the country.
Sources for this lesson
- Cambridge IGCSE (9–1) Geography 0976 syllabus, 2027–2029 · objective 9.2.6
- Vietnam Industry Agency · Samsung Vietnam operations and 2024 exports
- World Bank · Viet Nam 2045: Trading Up in a Changing World
- World Bank · Vietnam Development Report 2019: Connecting Vietnam for Growth and Shared Prosperity
Pause and explain
Why can high exports coexist with limited domestic participation in global value chains?
Worked example
Samsung Vietnam reported US$54.4 billion of exports in 2024. Explain why this company figure should not be treated as Vietnam's total exports or as domestic value added.
Show the worked solution
- Identify the reporting unit and year.
- Exports are gross sales crossing borders; imported inputs and foreign ownership affect the value retained locally.
- Separate a single company's figure from the national trade total.
Answer US$54.4 billion is the 2024 export figure reported for Samsung's six Vietnam factories, not all Vietnamese exports. Gross exports include the value of inputs and products sold abroad; they do not show how much value, profit or technology remains with Vietnamese-owned firms.
Look for these in your work
- Company and country totals distinguished
- Date retained
- Gross exports distinguished from domestic value added
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Identify two ways Samsung's Vietnam operations connect the country to globalisation, using one dated figure.
Give me a hint
Consider investment, factories, R&D, suppliers, employment and exports.
Compare my reasoning
- The government agency reported about US$23.2 billion of implemented investment by the end of 2024.
- Samsung's six factories reported US$54.4 billion in exports during 2024.
- These operations connect Vietnamese production and logistics to global markets and a TNC's cross-border network.
Samsung's investment and factories connect Vietnamese workers, suppliers and transport networks to international production. The agency reported about US$23.2 billion of investment by the end of 2024 and US$54.4 billion in company exports that year.
Look for these in your work
- Two connections explained
- One accurate date-bound figure used
- Global link made explicit
Use the World Bank figures to explain one benefit and one limitation of Vietnam's global trade integration.
Give me a hint
Use the national foreign-export share and local-linkage trend, and keep them separate from Samsung-specific data.
Compare my reasoning
- Foreign firms accounted for 73% of Vietnam's exports in the cited World Bank analysis.
- Domestic firms' participation in global value chains fell from 35% in 2009 to 18% in 2023.
- Export integration can provide markets and jobs, while weak local links limit domestic value capture.
Foreign-led exports connect Vietnam to large markets and support production and employment. But the World Bank's national figures—73% of exports from foreign firms and domestic GVC participation falling from 35% to 18% between 2009 and 2023—show why export growth does not automatically build strong domestic supplier links.
Look for these in your work
- National statistics not misapplied to Samsung
- Benefit explained
- Domestic-linkage limitation explained
Evaluate the claim: 'Vietnam should prioritise attracting more TNC factories because higher exports guarantee broad development.'
Give me a hint
Balance jobs and investment against ownership, skills, local suppliers, resilience and environmental standards.
Compare my reasoning
- TNCs can bring investment, jobs, export access, supplier demand and training.
- Export totals do not reveal domestic value added; foreign firms dominated 73% of exports in the World Bank analysis.
- A stronger policy combines investment with supplier development, technology and skills upgrading, finance and environmental safeguards.
Attracting TNCs can accelerate production and exports, but higher gross exports do not guarantee broad development. Vietnam's foreign firms accounted for 73% of exports while domestic GVC participation fell between 2009 and 2023. Policies should keep investment attractive while building local supplier capability, skills, higher-value work and environmental safeguards, then measure wages and domestic value added.
Look for these in your work
- Claim challenged with sourced evidence
- Benefits and limits balanced
- A measurable development strategy recommended
Common mistakes
- Treating Samsung's exports as Vietnam's total exports
- Assuming all exported value is produced locally
- Applying the World Bank's national 73% figure to Samsung alone
- Assuming every local supplier receives equal benefits
- Equating investment with technology transfer to domestic firms
- Ignoring dependence on foreign demand and imported components
- Using this optional pack without confirming the centre's selected country and TNC
What can you explain now?
If a factory assembles imported components in Vietnam and exports finished phones, do gross exports equal the value retained by Vietnamese-owned firms?
Compare with the explanation
No; gross exports include value from imported inputs and do not measure ownership or domestic value added
Compare export sales with the value created and retained inside the country.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
Your review choice appears on Today. Sign in to sync it across devices.
Make it stick
Explain globalisation, give two Samsung-in-Vietnam facts, one national benefit, one domestic-link limitation and one strategy to raise local value added.
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.