Vietnam should shift to semiconductor design: US expert

Vietnam already has experience in the semiconductor sector such as assembling chips, so the country should move on to designing chips, a task with high potential, said John Neuffer, president and CEO of the U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

The executive made the statement on Friday during a meeting with authorities of the northern province of Bac Ninh.

Vietnam is an attractive market for the semiconductor sector, so the SIA will continue its cooperation with the country, he added. The executive also provided recommendations and experiences to Bac Ninh authorities on how to promote the sector.

For his part, Nguyen Anh Tuan, chief of Bac Ninh's Party Committee, said the province is striving to develop the semiconductor sector. So far, it has made preparations, such as installing 4G stations to cover the whole province, establishing three 5G stations for trial operations, deploying an information-technology park, and researching policies to build a strong workforce to serve the sector.

Tuan asked the SIA to connect more American semiconductor firms to Bac Ninh and help with workforce training. Bac Ninh will work with the SIA to hold a semiconductor conference in December, the leader added.

Bac Ninh is home to global companies including Amkor and Samsung, also two members of the SIA. On October 11, Amkor Technology Inc., a leading provider of semiconductor packaging and test services, held a grand opening for its newest factory in Bac Ninh.

The Vietnamese facility is set to become Amkor’s most extensive facility, covering 57 acres (23.1 hectares) in Yen Phong 2C Industrial Park. Beginning with Advanced System in Package (SiP) and memory production, the factory will offer turnkey solutions, from design to electrical testing.

Samsung's four subsidiaries in Vietnam made a total profit of KRW2,999 billion ($2.26 billion) in the first half of this year, down 11.2% year-on-year, according to the South Korean tech giant's interim business report. Its two facilities in Bac Ninh are Samsung Electronics Vietnam (SEV) and Samsung Display Vietnam (SDV).

In the first half of 2023, Samsung Electronics Vietnam's profit fell 2% to KRW910.2 billion ($696.5 million) from KRW928.4 billion ($700.2 million) in the same period last year. Meanwhile, profit at Samsung Display Vietnam tripled to KRW570.5 billion ($430.3 million).

Registered foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam hit $25.76 billion in the year to October 20, up 14.7% year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment. Regarding receivers, the leader was northern province of Quang Ninh with $3.09 billion, up 41.3% year-on-year. Bac Ninh came seventh with $1.32 billion, down 30.7% year-on-year.