(MPI) - Vietnam has emerged as a bright spot for the semiconductor industry amid the global trends of supply chain diversification and complex geopolitical developments, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, deputy head of the National Steering Committee for Semiconductor Industry Development made his speech at the first meeting of the committee in Hanoi on December 14.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung speaks at the meeting. Photo: VGP

This is attributed to a hi-quality workforce with competitive costs, significant investments and upgrades in infrastructure, increasingly open and streamlined mechanisms and policies, as well as strong political commitment from Party and State leaders and close attention and direction of the Prime Minister, he added.

Minister Dung highlighted Vietnam’s drastic actions like establishing the national steering committee on semiconductor industry development, with the Prime Minister is the head of the committee, and launching a human resources development programme, a semiconductor industry development strategy.

Regarding efforts to promote coordination among state agencies, schools, and enterprises, alongside short-term training programmes, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has assigned the National Innovation Centre (NIC) to collaborate with leading tech corporations to enhance semiconductor workforce training, such as Cadence, ARM, and Siemens to provide software design licenses for over 30 Vietnamese higher education institutions. NIC has partnered with domestic and international partners like Arizona State University, Qorvo, Dolphin, and FPT to organise advanced and short-term training programmes for lecturers and students.

The MPI has also engaged with tech giants like Qualcomm, Google, Meta, LAM Research, Qorvo, and AlChip. Specific plans are underway to relocate their supply chains to Vietnam, establish research centers, and expand manufacturing activities in the country.

Vietnam currently hosts 174 foreign-invested projects in the semiconductor sector, with a total registered capital of nearly 11.6 billion USD.

Notably, NVIDIA has signed agreements with several partners to shift its production chains to Vietnam, committing investments of 4 - 4.5 billion USD over the next four years. This is expected to create approximately 4,000 direct jobs and 40,000 - 50,000 indirect jobs in the coming years.

A significant cooperation agreement was signed between the Vietnamese Government and NVIDIA on December 5 to establish a Research and Development Centre and the AI Data Centre in Vietnam, marking a major milestone to help Vietnam leap in technology and draw the attention of leading hi-tech investors in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors, alongside with attracting talents in the fields.

Minister Dung outlined a number of solutions to continue fostering the development of the semiconductor industry. He emphasised that Vietnam has the opportunity to seize the chance to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor value chain, stressing the need for the participation of ministries, sectors, localities, enterprises, research institutes, universities, and both domestic and foreign experts.

“Vietnam cannot reach its goals by acting alone. Now, more than ever, Vietnam needs swift, strong, and comprehensive cooperation with leading nations, economies, enterprises, and partners in the semiconductor industry. This approach will enable the country to “stand on the shoulders of giants” leveraging its human resource advantages to emerge as a key hub in Asia and the world for semiconductor development, with the potential to become a major AI powerhouse in the future”, the minister said./.

Bao Linh

Ministry of Planning and Investment