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Vietnam's President Lam met SpaceX in New York

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Government says it is considering SpaceX's proposal

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SpaceX has long sought to launch Starlink services in

Vietnam

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Starlink looks to assist education, disaster prevention

efforts

By Khanh Vu and Francesco Guarascio

HANOI, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX plans to

invest $1.5 billion in Vietnam in the near future, the

government of the Communist-run nation said on Thursday, which

could help resolve a stalemate over the launch of its Starlink

satellite services there.

Months of talks on the offer of Starlink's satellite

internet connection and other communications services were put

on hold at the end of 2023, sources familiar with the matter had

told Reuters earlier this year, although they resumed later.

"The Vietnamese government is considering the (investment)

proposal of SpaceX," a report on the government portal on

Thursday quoted President To Lam as saying, asking the company

to work closely on completing preparations for the investment.

The remark followed the leader's meeting in New York with

SpaceX government affairs official Tim Hughes, who said the

company planned to invest $1.5 billion in Vietnam, a promising

market for its satellite internet service, the report added.

The government did not clarify where SpaceX's investment

would be made, nor when details could be agreed.

U.S.-based SpaceX did not immediately respond to a Reuters

request for comment.

Vietnam's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for

comment.

With 100 million people, Vietnam is a large user base for

U.S. internet companies such as Meta's Facebook and

Alphabet, but its ageing equipment can disrupt

operations of key optic fibre undersea cables.

Large mountainous swathes also make internet services less

reliable in Vietnam, which could also use satellite internet for

tasks such as tighter patrolling in the disputed South China Sea

where it is often at odds with China.

Such a step may not go down well with Beijing, however.

INVESTING WHERE?

Thursday's news follows a report this month on the

government portal that cited Hughes as saying SpaceX aimed to

provide Starlink services to the Southeast Asian nation, after

the two sides had resumed talks.

At the time, Hughes, the company's senior vice president for

global business and government affairs, said SpaceX's deployment

of internet services in Vietnam aimed mainly to benefit

education and disaster prevention efforts, state media reported.

Last year's talks were stymied by questions about ownership

of the company SpaceX would have to set up in Vietnam, which

limits foreigners' holdings in such firms to half, while SpaceX

wanted at least a controlling stake, sources had told Reuters.

It is unclear whether this issue is still a hurdle.

Vietnam also requires data to be stored domestically, with

strict controls on what is visible online.

Industry sources told Reuters SpaceX has suppliers in

Vietnam, a major industrial hub home to large manufacturing

operations of U.S. firms and their contractors.

Apple, with dozens of suppliers in the country, said in

April it wanted to invest more by increasing spending on them.