Austria printed circuit board manufacturer AT&S has been studying several locations in Vietnam to build two factories worth €1.5 billion ($1.78 billion). 

AT&S Headquarter in Leoben city, Austria. Photo courtesy of AT&S.

The plan was revealed at a Tuesday meeting between Austrian Ambassador to Vietnam, Thomas Schuller-Gotzburg, AT&S Chief Operating Officer Ingolf Schroeder and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Schroeder said AT&S is confident that it can build its facilities in a short period of time to meet the growing demand for printed circuit boards.

The company will make a decision on the location in mid-April and start construction at the end of this year. It expects to complete work within a year, Schroeder said.

There is a likelihood that the northern province of Thai Nguyen is able to match the firm’s infrastructure requirements, he added.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that the government is committed to creating favorable conditions for foreign investors doing businesses in Vietnam.

The country also has incentive investment policies for hi-tech projects, he said.

Phuc also said that the government was building expressways in both the northern province of Thai Nguyen and HCMC to further attract foreign investment.

AT&S designs and manufactures high-end printed circuit boards serving as components in industrial production, semiconductor production and artificial intelligence applications. In the last five years, it has achieved an average growth rate of 7 percent per year.