The article about plans by Vietnamese carmaker VinFast to build a $4 billion manufacturing plant in Chatham County cited insights from Assistant Professor of Economics Tonmoy Islam.
New this week that a Vietnamese carmaker has plans to build a $4 billion manufacturing operations in Chatham County generated speculation about the impact of the project on the region, with Assistant Professor of Economics Tonmoy Islam offering his insights to the Triangle Business Journal.
VinFast announced on Tuesday that is plans to invest $4 billion in the operation and hire 7,500 workers during the next five years, with North Carolina approving an incentives package for the project of $854 million. Reporter Lauren Ohnesorge talked with Islam to get his take on how the project could ripple through the state.
Islam noted that the number of workers supported by the VinFast plant is much greater than those who work directly in assembling the vehicles. “Building a car requires so many tiny components,” Islam told Ohnesorge.
He pointed to the impact of the BMW plant in Spartanburg, S.C., which has a much broader economic output in the upstate region of the state than just the plant. “When BMW opened their plant … a number of suppliers also decided to open their factories there,” Islam said.
Read the entire article here. The article was also published in the Triad Business Journal and the Charlotte Business Journal.