Vietnam eyes lucrative semiconductor market

On October 11, Amkor will inaugurate a major semiconductor facility in Bac Ninh province, some 31km from Hanoi. This is an official ceremony; according to Amkor Technology Vietnam CEO Kim Sung Hun, the plant commenced operation in July.

He said this is one of Amkor's most advanced factories, whose operation will facilitate the formation and development of Vietnam’s semiconductor ecosystem.

As planned, the new facility will create jobs for about 10,000 workers, depending on the factory development scale, thereby promoting the economies of Bac Ninh and Vietnam.

With total capital reaching $1.6 billion, of which $520 million is tailored to phase I, Amkor’s new factory is deemed one of the largest semiconductor manufacturing facilities in Vietnam.

In the initial phase, the factory will focus on providing state-of-the art system-in-package assembly and test solutions to the world's top electronics and semiconductor manufacturers.

On September 16, South Korea’s Hana Micron Vina Co. Ltd. inaugurated its $600 million semiconductor factory in Bac Giang province, some 50km from Hanoi.

In fact, the first phase of the project started operations in November 2020. Now is the second phase, with a total combined investment value reaching $600 million.

The plant manufactures integrated circuit boards used for mobile phones and other smart electronic products.

According to Choi Chang Ho- the company’s chairman, Hana Micron Vina plans to scale up its total investment to more than $1 billion in 2025, generating annual revenues of $800 million and creating 4,000 jobs for Vietnamese workers.

In addition to these two new projects, US tech giant Intel currently has a $1.5 billion factory in Ho Chi Minh City.

Marvell Technology announced the establishment of an IC Design Centre in Ho Chi Minh City on May 16 and continues to expand investment in Vietnam.

Many other players as Renesas, Applied Micro, Synopsys, NXP Semiconductors, and Hanmi Semiconductor have investment and business activities in Vietnam.

Speaking at the Vietnam Business Summit in late September, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said that Vietnam had sufficient conditions to build a semiconductor ecosystem.

With great efforts in connecting and calling for foreign investors to invest in the country’s semiconductor industry, the Ministry of Planning and Investment chief pointed out important advantages of Vietnam as having a stable political system, favourable geographical location and the government’s commitment to promoting investment, cooperation and development of the industry.

The government has assigned the MPI, the Ministry of Information and Communications, and relevant management agencies to develop an action plan and strategy to develop Vietnam’s semiconductor industry.

A human resources development project with the goal of forming a team of 50,000 engineers and experts for the semiconductor industry by 2030 has also been devised.

Moving forward, Vietnam has established the National Innovation Centre and has in place three high-tech parks in Ho Chi Minh City, Hoa Lac (Hanoi) and Danang.

“All are ready to welcome investors in the semiconductor industry with highly preferential mechanisms,” Minister Nguyen Chi Dung said.

According to Clark Tseng- senior director of the Southeast Asia Semiconductor Industry Association, the global semiconductor market would touch $1 trillion by 2030.

During that journey, Vietnam can become a big growth hub for the industry, he said.

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