Viet Nam – an attractive destination for semiconductor chips
At the meeting, the report of the Minister of Planning and Investment stated that, following rapid and stable growth over the past 20 years, the global semiconductor industry continued to accelerate strongly in 2024, reaching a value of nearly USD 600 billion.
The roll-out of 5G networks continues to drive demand for chips; demand for AI chips is rising sharply; the electric vehicle industry is developing rapidly and has become a global trend; following the chip shortage of 2021, new chip fabrication plants have been built in the United States, Europe and Asia to restore supply chains; and countries and economies continue to provide large support packages for the semiconductor industry.
The Prime Minister chairs the meeting of the National Steering Committee for Semiconductor Industry Development. Photo: VGP/Nhật Bắc.
Amid the trend of supply chain diversification and complex geopolitical developments around the world, Viet Nam is emerging as an attractive destination for investors in the semiconductor industry.
Viet Nam has recently taken many decisive actions: promptly establishing the National Steering Committee for Semiconductor Industry Development; issuing the Human Resource Development Programme and the Strategy for the Development of the Semiconductor Industry; and implementing many specific solutions and actions.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment has met and worked with many leading technology corporations such as Qualcomm, Google, Meta, LAM Research, Qorvo and AlChip, which have concrete plans to shift supply chains to Viet Nam, develop research centres, and expand investment, business and production in Viet Nam. Viet Nam currently has 174 FDI projects in the semiconductor sector with total registered capital of nearly USD 11.6 billion.
In particular, NVIDIA, the world's leading technology corporation, and the Government of Viet Nam signed an agreement on 5 December 2024 to establish a Research and Development Centre and an AI Data Centre in Viet Nam. This is an important "boost" that will help Viet Nam make a technological leap in the coming period, with a significant spill-over effect, attracting the interest of other high-tech investors around the world, especially in AI and semiconductors, to invest in Viet Nam.
A number of localities, such as Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Vinh Phuc and Binh Duong, have actively and proactively carried out activities to develop the ecosystem and human resources, attract investment and pursue international cooperation to develop the semiconductor industry.
Viet Nam cannot reach the finish line alone
However, there are still many difficulties and challenges to overcome in order to achieve greater successes for Viet Nam's semiconductor industry.
Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Chí Dũng speaks at the meeting. Photo: VGP/Nhật Bắc
Minister Nguyễn Chí Dũng said that semiconductors are a specialised industry requiring large capital investment and high standards of human resources and technology. Amid fierce competition between economies to attract semiconductor investors, many large technology corporations that had planned to enter Viet Nam have so far only conducted surveys and explorations and are waiting for specific incentives. Meanwhile, investment support mechanisms take time to be issued and put into practice.
Enterprises in the semiconductor industry are very concerned about the adequate and stable supply of infrastructure such as electricity, water and wastewater treatment systems. Some large corporations, such as Samsung and Intel, have asked to be provided with a stable supply of renewable, sustainable energy at preferential prices. However, Viet Nam's power system, especially clean power, remains limited and poses risks to factory operations.
Progress in implementing some areas of cooperation with the United States has not yet met requirements; cooperation programmes focus mainly on packaging and testing, while cooperation in upstream stages remains limited.
As the Strategy and the Programme have only just been issued, ministries, sectors, localities, research institutes, universities and enterprises are still at the stage of studying and implementing them. Investing in national-level and institution-level laboratories requires considerable time for study and implementation, as this is new and unprecedented for some universities.
To continue developing the semiconductor industry in the coming period, the Ministry of Planning and Investment put forward a number of proposals to ministries and sectors. These include focusing on completing the three pillars of the semiconductor industry: mechanisms and policies, infrastructure, and high-quality human resources; and attracting talent, especially Vietnamese talent around the world, to contribute to the domestic semiconductor industry.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment also proposed that the Ministry of Finance allocate funding from other development investment expenditure in 2025 (an estimated VND 10,000 billion) to the Investment Support Fund to carry out these tasks.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment considers that Viet Nam can seize this "rare" opportunity to participate deeply in the semiconductor value chain, which therefore requires the involvement of all ministries, sectors, localities, enterprises, research institutes, universities and domestic and international experts.
Viet Nam cannot reach the finish line alone. More than ever, at this important stage and moment of opportunity, it needs fast, strong and comprehensive cooperation with the world's leading countries, economies, enterprises and partners in semiconductors in order to "stand on the shoulders of giants", leverage its human resource advantages to become a country with a central position in Asia and the world in semiconductor industry development, and potentially become an AI powerhouse in the future.