The leading global tech corporation will hand over its mobile phone factory in Bac Ninh Province. Its 4,500 staff would work for FIH Mobile Ltd. or HMD Global Oy, according to Microsoft's press release yesterday.
Microsoft is selling its Nokia phone manufacturing factory in Bac Ninh Province to Foxconn. Photo by Vietnam Business Forum. |
Microsoft underlined that the corporation will continue to develop Windows 10 Mobile and support Lumia phones including the Lumia 650 and Lumia 950 XL and devices from OEM partners such as Acer, Alcatel, HP, Trinity and Vaio.
The Redmond based corporation sells all of its feature phone business including brand, software, services, customer contracts and important provision agreements.
The deal is expected to be concluded in the second part of 2016, subject to regulatory approval and other closing conditions.
Microsoft became the owner of the mobile phone manufacturing factory in Bac Ninh Province after acquiring Nokia's phone business in April 2014 for $7.2 billion. The multinational technology giant closed four factories in China, Mexico and Hungary to move its manufacturing chain to Vietnam.
Vietnam's government recently asked Microsoft to prove it is meeting the criteria necessary to benefit from high-tech preferences. Following the sale of the factory to Foxconn, Microsoft will no longer have any production projects in Vietnam.