Vietnam ready for semiconductor development: minister

Vietnam has all the conditions and factors required to develop a semiconductor ecosystem, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung has said, as the country seeks to climb the global value chain.

Addressing the Vietnam Business Summit on semiconductor development in Southeast Asia in Hanoi on Friday, the minister named Vietnam’s stable politics, favorable geographic location, and the government’s priority in this field as the main factors.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has assigned the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Information and Communications and other agencies to build a strategy and follow-up actions to grow this industry, he noted.

Secondly, Vietnam has an abundant technical and technological workforce that fits this industry. In addition, the country has capable education centers and resourceful corporations like Viettel, VNPT, FPT and CMC that are ready to join the cause.

Thirdly, Vietnam is becoming increasingly attractive to semiconductor-related businesses from the U.S., South Korea, and Taiwan. Since upgrading Vietnam-U.S. relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership – the highest designation in Vietnam’s diplomatic hierarchy, the two countries have decided to foster strategic cooperation in semiconductors.

Fourthly, Vietnam applies the maximum regulatory incentives to high-technology sectors, including semiconductors.

Fifthly, Vietnam has set up the Hanoi-based National Innovation Center (NIC) and three high-tech parks in Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City that are open to semiconductor investors with appealing preferences, the minister noted.

Speaking at the event, Linda Tan, president of the Southeast Asia Semiconductor Association (SEMI SEA), highlighted that Vietnam is a potential partner in advancing the regional semiconductor ecosystem and is likely to gain a higher status in this industry.

Vietnam’s semiconductor market is estimated to be worth $1.65 billion and forecast to boast a compound annual growth rate of 6.12% in the 2022-2027 period.

Highly regarding the potential collaboration between Vietnam and the region and elsewhere, Minister Dung called on companies already present in Vietnam to expand operations and others to explore investment opportunities here.

In latest news, three cooperation deals were signed between Vietnamese government agencies and U.S. semiconductor businesses in Washington, D.C. on September 19, as Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh was on a week-long visit to the U.S.

South Korea’s Hana Micron Vina Co., Ltd on September 16 inaugurated a semiconductor plant in Bac Giang province, the first of its kind in northern Vietnam.

U.S. semiconductor giant Marvell Technology plans to open a new facility in Vietnam by end-2024, CEO and chairman Matt Murphy said on September 11.