LG Innotek to invest $1B into Vietnam manufacturing plant

Camera components produced by LG Innotek [LG INNOTEK]

LG Innotek, which supplies camera components to Apple, will invest $1 billion into building a new manufacturing facility for advanced camera modules and other optical products in Haiphong, Vietnam.

The Seoul-based supplier said Monday that the investment, which will be carried out between July and December 2025, will go towards producing smartphone camera modules, although the company did not provide further specifications about the products to be produced.

The new factory is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024 and begin operations starting in 2025.

If the new facility can double the current production level in Vietnam, it would be LG Innotek's largest foreign manufacturing site outside of Korea.

Industry insiders believe that the expansion is in response to a bigger order from Apple, with the smartphone manufacturer tapping LG Innotek to provide a wider range of components such as the main camera module and folded zoom actuator.

Apple is known for deploying multiple vendors for iPhone components to secure its dominant position over pricing and diversify risks, but the portion of LG Innotek has recently increased to account for about 90 percent in the supply of main camera module.

“The portion of other competing vendors such as Sharp has reduced due to its subpar performance and failure for stable supply,” said Park Gang-ho, an analyst at Daishin Securities.
For the new folded zoom module being adopted in the iPhone 15 Pro Max range, the Korean electronic equipment maker, 40.79 percent owned by LG Electronics, has been selected as the sole supplier according to Park.

The folded zoom technology makes use of prisms to fold the light entering the image sensor in making the size of module smaller and upping zoom range.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]