A customer talks to sales assistant in an Apple Store in Beijing, China. (Photo: Reuters)

Currently, there is a BOE factory in southern Vietnam, supplying mostly television screens to South Korea's Samsung and LG Electronics Inc.

BOE plans to make the more sophisticated organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) screens at the planned site rather than liquid-crystal displays (LCDs), Reuters quoted one of the people as saying.

Northern Vietnam has in recent years attracted significant investment from electronics giants, becoming a major hub for the production of smartphones, computers and cameras, including flagship goods from Apple and Samsung.

Hon Hai Precision Industry and Luxshare Precision Industry are also planning to produce Apple products in Vietnam, such as laptops and tablet computers, Reuters said.