Vingroup launches first smartphones

Hanoi: Vietnam's largest private conglomerate Vingroup unveiled its first made-in-Vietnam mobile phones in the fast-growing country where it will face tough competition from tech giants like Samsung, Oppo and Apple.

The company, run by Vietnam's richest man, has built its core business in the real estate and retail sectors but has branched out to include car manufacturing, gene decoding and now mobile phones. The company's mobile phone subsidiary, Vinsmart, launched four phone models on Friday, priced between $120 and $280.

"(We are) aiming to bring to our clients the opportunity to experience high-quality, made-in-Vietnam products," Nguyen Viet Quang, deputy chairman of Vingroup, said at the launch event in Ho Chi Minh City.

The company said its factory in the port city of Hai Phong has the capacity to produce five million phones per year and could expand to smart TVs and smart homes.

Vingroup acquired a 51 percent stake in Spanish consumer electronics maker BQ earlier this year, which will help with product development. On Friday Vinsmart announced a patent licensing agreement with US chipmaker Qualcomm for mobile phone terminals.