Vietnam an ideal new manufacturing base for Taiwan semiconductor firm TSMC: Amata exec

Vietnam will be an ideal location if Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plans to establish a new manufacturing base amidst ongoing US-China tensions, said an Amata executive.

Somhatai Panichewa, CEO of Amata VN, the Vietnamese unit of Thailand’s leading industrial real estate developer Amata, was quoted by Japanese news agency NNA as saying this Tuesday at a press conference in Bangkok.

The “Amata Vietnam: Driving Progress in 2024 and Beyond” press conference was co-hosted by Thailand’s Amata and Japanese giant Marubeni. It focused on “China plus one” strategies for businesses from Japan and other economies.

As the United States diversifies its procurement sources for the semiconductor industry, Southeast Asian countries are looking to expand into high value-added upstream processes, Panichewa said.

She noted that Vietnam was not only rich in rare earths that are indispensable for semiconductor manufacturing, but it would also be easy for Vietnam to obtain support from the United States.

Electronics, semiconductors and automobile components are sectors where investment in Vietnam is likely to increase in the future, she added.

She also highlighted Amata VN’s readiness to welcome more foreign direct investment (FDI) into Vietnam.

Amata has four current and upcoming industrial real estate projects in Vietnam covering 3,000 hectares that are hosting FDI projects worth more than $6 billion.

The four industrial parks are Amata City Bien Hoa in Dong Nai province, southern Vietnam; Amata City Long Thanh, also in Dong Nai; Amata City Ha Long in Quang Ninh province, northern Vietnam; and the Quang Tri Industrial Park, a joint investment between Amata, Japan’s Sumitomo and Singapore-invested VSIP.

Vietnam’s attractiveness for the electronics and semiconductor industries was highlighted in May by Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, who said many global tech majors have shown keen investment interest.

In June, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha said Vietnam has all suitable conditions to become a key part of the global semiconductor industry, but it will involve a long-term, costly strategy, with piloting fabrication of chips likely to cost up to $7 billion.

TSMC's consolidated revenue reached TWD2,161.7 billion ($66.4 billion) in 2023, down 4.5% year-on-year. It produced 28% of the world semiconductor excluding memory output value in 2023, compared to 30% the previous year, mainly due to inventory correction in the semiconductor industry. It shipped 12 million 12-inch equivalent wafers, less than 15.3 million in 2022.