Investment Promotion Agency under Vinh Phuc Province, northern Vietnam, has rejected a US$200 million investment plan proposed by Taiwan-based EMS provider Foxconn Electronics, according to Vietnam-based Viet Nam News and Thanh Nien Daily.

Foxconn originally planned to develop factory sites with total land area of 500 hectares in Binh Xuyen 2 Industrial Zone in Vinh Phuc, with the sites to be used to develop a handset production base with annual capacity of 89 million handsets and components, the sources said.

Foxconn already obtained approval for the plan in 2008 and was supposed to start production in 2009, the reports indicated. However, Foxconn has since requested for delay in implementing the investment plan for a few times.

As Foxconn has delayed it for seven years, the Investment Promotion Agency has retracted its approval for the project, the reports said.

Meanwhile, Taiwan-based Compal Electronics plans to renew a proposal for investment in Vinh Phuc, the reports cited the Investment Promotion Agency as indicating.

Compal in 2007 announced investment of US$500 million to set up a notebook production base in Vinh Phuc, but has not implemented it yet. Compal will resume the investment to produce handsets there instead of notebooks, however.