Apple (AAPL) has already spent almost $16 billion through its supply chain in the country since 2019, the government quoted Cook as saying. According to the statement, Cook said Apple “stands ready … to enhance cooperation and investment activities” in the Southeast Asian country. Nguyen, whose firm manages $6 billion in assets, told CNN that labor costs in Vietnam’s manufacturing sector are about half those in neighboring China. That’s a big draw for foreign tech companies looking to hire workers for their factories, and find consumers for their products. Still, Vietnam represents a far smaller market than India, which has also been wooing large foreign companies, including Tesla (TSLA), to set up factories in the country.

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Persons: Tim Cook, Pham Minh Chinh, Cook, Apple “, Thuy Anh, Nguyen, Dan Ives, “ We’re, ”, “, Tuan Hung, Ho, That’s, Ives, Juliana Liu Organizations: London CNN, Apple, Vietnamese, Dragon, CNN, country’s Ministry of Planning, Investment, Wedbush Securities, Intel, Consumer, Monetary Fund Locations: Vietnam, China, Hanoi, Beijing, India, United States, Ho Chi Minh City, Washington, That’s, Europe