Dutch chip suppliers weigh factory possibilities in Vietnam

Dutch suppliers to giant chipmaker ASML Holding are gauging reality in Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia this week to build factories in the Southeast Asian markets.

The mission’s purposes include “exploring the possibilities for establishment/production in Vietnam and/or Malaysia,” the Brabant Development Agency, a Dutch public body co-organizing the Monday-Friday working trip, said in an announcement.

The other purposes are exploring the local business climate, finding available local support, learning from entrepreneurs who are already established, and building local networks, said the agency.

Another organizer is Brainport Industries, which represents about 200 high-tech manufacturing companies in the Netherlands. This trip is made possible in part by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) under the Dutch government.

The visitors are executives from a dozen tech companies, with most of them being contractors to Dutch leading semiconductor maker ASML, a chip supplier to tech giants like Taiwan-headquartered TSMC, Samsung of South Korea, and American heavyweight Intel, which is operating a chip test and assemble facility in Ho Chi Minh City’s Saigon Hi-Tech Park.

Intel has already invested $1.5 billion in Vietnam and plans vigorous investment expansions but has not publicized details. Meanwhile, more than half of Samsung smartphones are made in Vietnam, where the Korean giant launched a $220 million R&D center in late December in a fresh move expected to turn Vietnam into a global research and development hub.

Dutch chip supplier Neways, one of the companies taking part in the trip, announced on January 31 it had signed a new long-term supplier agreement with ASML (Nasdaq: ASML). “This agreement is a confirmation of our longstanding strategic relationship and strengthens our joint future around cutting-edge technology, sustainability, and growth.”

“Over the past decades we have worked together on various new developments, in which Neways has proven to be a reliable and high-quality supplier. We believe that this agreement sets a strong foundation to continue our joint efforts for the growth ahead of us,” Michiel Claessens, senior director sourcing & supply chain at ASML, said in that announcement.

On March 8, the Dutch government announced new restrictions on exports impacting ASML's second-best range of chip-printing tools, which may lead to Chinese retaliation. The new move is in alignment with U.S. goals of undermining China's ability to make cutting-edge chips.

ASML is Europe's largest technology by market capitalization.