Vietnam is witnessing increasing interest from global semiconductor giants, but officials and experts agree that more large-scale and strategic projects are needed to drive long-term growth and elevate the country’s position in the global semiconductor supply chain.
At the second meeting of the National Steering Committee for Semiconductor Industry Development, Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Tam noted that Vietnam is gradually making deeper inroads into the global semiconductor industry.
According to official data, Vietnam currently has over 50 IC design firms with around 7,000 engineers Meanwhile, 15 enterprises are engaged in chip packaging and testing, and semiconductor equipment/material manufacturing, employing about 6,600 engineers and 10,000 technicians.
Vietnam has begun entering high value-added segments of the industry, including semiconductor component production as well as chip packaging and testing, Tam said.
Domestic firms such as Viettel, FPT, and CMC are working hard to develop the semiconductor industry. Besides, many foreign investors like Intel, Amkor, and Hana Micron are also coming with large projects. Vietnam has attracted around 170 foreign-invested projects in semiconductor and high-tech industries, with a combined registered capital of nearly 11.6 billion USD.
Global tech leaders like Nvidia and Qualcomm have also chosen Vietnam as a strategic base for their AI and semiconductor R&D operations.
Tam called this a “milestone achievement” in Vietnam’s integration into the global semiconductor value chain, saying it has created a strong ripple effect for the supply chain shift toward Vietnam. It also represents a leap of Vietnam’s position on the global semiconductor and technology map.
Adding to this momentum, Coherent Corp, a leading US supplier of semiconductor materials, equipment and components, recently inaugurated a 127-million-USD facility in Dong Nai province. At the event, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung expressed confidence that Coherent’s investment will help Vietnam become “a vital link and a semiconductor hub in the future.”
According to the US Semiconductor Industry Association, global semiconductor revenue grew by 20% in 2024 compared to the previous year. It is expected to expand by some 12% in 2025 to reach 700 billion USD and hit 1 trillion USD by 2030. To secure a share of this booming market, Vietnam must step up efforts to attract strategic and large foreign investments.
Apart from large investments by such firms as Nvidia and Qualcomm, observers note that major deals remain limited, and several tech giants are still waiting to assess Vietnam’s policy readiness, land capacity, as well as the availability of energy and high-quality human resources.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, head of the National Steering Committee, at the committee’s meeting urged relevant agencies to prioritise attracting FDI to the semiconductor sector, especially projects involving advanced and clean technologies with modern governance, high value added, strong spillover effects, and connection with the global supply chain.
In a relevant development, Deputy PM Dung recently chaired a meeting to review and promote Korean FDI in strategic sectors like semiconductor and energy. He also called for swift resolution of policy bottlenecks at the ministerial and local levels to facilitate project implementation./.VNA