Apple supplier Foxconn halts Vietnam production due to protests over oil drilling

“Foxconn, the Taiwanese company that manufacturers iPhones and iPads for Apple, is shutting operations in Vietnam for three days because of the anti-China protests that have erupted over the past week,” Demetri Sevastopulo, Julie Zhu, and Michael Peel report for The Financial Times.

“Sino-Vietnamese relations have deteriorated sharply since China started drilling for oil in waters near the disputed Paracel Islands – which China controls and calls the Xisha – in the South China Sea,” Sevastopulo, Zhu, and Peel report. “The latest tensions in the South China Sea have spilled into the commercial realm as factories supplying everyone from Walmart to Nike shut down after local mobs ransacked factories near Ho Chi Minh City in protest over China’s move.”

“Yue Yuen, the world’s biggest sports shoe maker that supplies Nike and Adidas, resumed production in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday for the first time in three days. But while calm appeared to have returned to many riot-hit areas, factories are worried that violence could erupt again on Sunday when government-sanctioned anti-China protests are expected. ‘Foxconn has taken measures to ensure the safety of our employees following recent developments in Vietnam,’ the company said,” Sevastopulo, Zhu, and Peel report. “On Friday, Samsung, which is a large investor in Vietnam, and Canon, the Japanese camera maker, said they had no plans to halt operations in the country.”

Read more in the full article here.

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