Tech giants keen on semiconductor investments in Vietnam: minister

Many global tech majors have shown keen investment interest in Vietnam’s electronics and semiconductor industries, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said Saturday.

"International businesses and organizations continue to appreciate Vietnam's growth prospects," he told a regular cabinet meeting.

The nation’s macroeconomy was basically stable in the first four months, inflation was controlled, major balances were guaranteed, he noted.

The nation’s consumer price index (CPI) increased 3.93% year-on-year; and state budget revenue reached 43.1% of the annual estimate, up 10.1% over the same period last year.

Import-export turnover expanded 15.2% for an estimated trade surplus of $8.4 billion in the first four months of the year. Vietnam’s exports to major markets like the U.S., E.U., and China surged during the period.

Registered foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam hit $9.27 billion in the year to April 22, up 4.5% year-on-year, while disbursed FDI hit $6.28 billion, the highest figure in the last five years.

Nearly 81,300 businesses were newly established or resumed operations, up 3% year-on-year. The number of enterprises awaiting dissolution or already dissolved was 25,500, down 5.3%.

However, Minister Dung cautioned that many difficulties and challenges lay ahead, with new risks potentially arising from both inside and outside the economy that would make inflation control, macroeconomic stabilization and growth promotion difficult tasks.

Therefore, authorities at all levels, sectors and localities need to continue reforming administrative procedures, improving the investment environment, and renewing existing growth drivers of investment, consumption and export, he noted.

At the same time, new growth drivers like digital transformation and green transition must be fully tapped, Dung added.

At a Friday ceremony to launch the Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC) 2023-2024, Samsung Vietnam CEO Choi Joo Ho said Vietnam was increasingly proving its importance in the global supply chain, reflected more clearly in terms of politics, human resources, infrastructure and greater global attention.

He said he expected Vietnam's importance in the information technology and high-tech industries to gain more prominence. High-tech businesses around the world are competing for investment opportunities in Vietnam, he noted.