The country now accounts for about 0.5-1 percent of the global laptop market, but this ratio could rise as the increasing conflict between the U.S. and China urges more manufacturing giants to move to Vietnam, according to Taiwanese think tank Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC).

Southeast Asia could produce half of the world’s laptops by 2030 if trade tensions continue to intensify, and Vietnam and Thailand will emerge as manufacturing hubs, MIC said in a recent report.

China’s share of global laptop production, which was 90 percent last year, could drop to 40 percent by 2030, given rising labor costs and manufacturers’ desire to diversify their supply chain, the report said.

Alice Hsu, an industry analyst at MIC, told VnExpress that major Taiwanese manufacturers such as Pegatron Corporation and Wistron Corporation were considering establishing plants in Vietnam, while Compal Electronics, with a plant in the northern province of Vinh Phuc, was considering expanding its operations in the country.

A recent report by the Ministry of Planning and Investment confirmed that Pegatron, a supplier for Apple, plans to invest $1 billion in Vietnam’s northern port city of Hai Phong in the next several years.

Hsu said some of Vietnam’s advantages are sufficient labor population and many free trade agreements like the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which came into effect in August.

The country has already been chosen as a base for electronics production by several multinationals, such as Samsung and Foxconn.

However, Hsu said that concerns about power shortage and inadequate transport infrastructure like ports and roads could also keep investors away.

Computers and electronics was Vietnam’s second largest exports category behind smartphones in the first nine months this year, with value rising nearly 26 percent year-on-year to $32.2 billion.