South Korean electronics conglomerate Samsung has decided to beef up its operations in Vietnam in an effort to increase the competiveness of its smartphones in the global market so that they can keep up with top products from rivals like Apple Inc.

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The Wall Street Journal last Monday reported that Samsung is investing heavily to retool its handset factories in some provinces in the north of Vietnam.

Samsung has shipped more than 20,000 metal-milling machines to its Vietnam factories to switch to aluminum-alloy bodies similar to what Apple uses, the Wall Street Journal said.

Samsung earlier this year announced an expansion of its smartphone manufacturing in Vietnam with $4 billion in new investment after already spending about $4.5 billion on several facilities near the capital city of Hanoi.

Last year, it began to seek permission from Vietnamese authorities for a dedicated terminal for the company’s import and export processes at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport after getting approval for a special customs warehouse near its factory in the northern province of Bac Ninh.

The electronics giant said the private facility would help it speed up the import and export of products.

The firm accounted for 35 percent of inbound and outbound goods shipped via the airport in 2013.

That figure is expected to rise to 50 percent in the near future, Samsung said.

The Korean company also recommended that the dedicated cargo terminal should be equipped with screening machines and other security equipment.

Hiring a record number of Vietnamese

Late last month, Samsung announced that 20,000 Vietnamese people had registered on its recruitment website to join an entrance exam to find a job at the South Korean conglomerate.

After a selection round, Samsung allowed 10,200 candidates to sit for its GSAT (Global Samsung Aptitude Test) held at the Vietnam National Convention Center in Hanoi on April 26, a 200-percent year-on-year rise, it said.

The GSAT is used globally with two main tests on mathematical ability and reasoning capability, one of the first stages of the process of recruiting college graduates of all companies belonging to the Samsung Group worldwide, the firm said.

After taking the GSAT, candidates who score well will continue to participate in interviews this month before being recruited by Samsung Vietnam.

The recruitment of a record number of college graduates is part of strategic expansion by Samsung in Vietnam.

Currently the workforce at the Samsung plants in Bac Ninh and Hung Yen, another northern province, has reached over 100,000 people, and this number continues to increase every month.

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