The ceremony was attended by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yon.

The 16-storey center was designed to house 2,200 employees who will research and develop software and technologies for mobile phones and other smart and network devices, the company said, adding it will make the center become Samsung's global technology foothold for wireless devices.

"The Samsung R&D center in Viet Nam will contribute not only to strengthening Viet Nam's industrial competitiveness but also to promoting friendly cooperation between Korea and Viet Nam," Chairman Lee said during the ceremony.

Samsung made inroads into Viet Nam in 1989, when Samsung C&T Corp., the construction unit of Samsung Group, set up a trade office there. Samsung Electronics officially established its Viet Nam office in Ho Chi Minh City in 1995.

Since establishing a mobile phone manufacturing plant in Bac Ninh, north Vietnam, in 2008, Samsung has been more aggressively investing in the country to become one of the largest foreign investors in the Southeast Asian country.

Last June, the Korean tech giant announced plans to increase its investment in Viet Nam from US$18 billion to US$20 billion./.