March 3, 2025
HANOI – Việt Nam will invest about VNĐ12.8 trillion (US$501.2 million) to build a small-scale semiconductor chip manufacturing plant to serve research, design, production, packaging and testing.
The information was revealed by Nguyễn Khắc Lịch, Director of the Department of Information and Communications Technology under the Ministry of Information and Communications.
He said that the Prime Minister had signed and issued the strategy for Việt Nam’s semiconductor industry development until 2030, with a vision to 2050.
This is the first time Việt Nam has had such long-term strategy.
Lịch said that the country needed to master research and technology development in the field of semiconductors and electronics, if it did not want to become a processing country.
The country should promote geopolitical advantages, follow investment trends, focus on electricity and water infrastructure as well as have preferential and supportive mechanisms and policies.
In the immediate future, Việt Nam would need a small-scale but high-tech chip manufacturing plant to meet domestic demand, participate in the global supply chain and ensure security and defence in case of supply chain disruption.
Recently, the National Assembly voted to pass a Resolution on piloting a number of special policies and mechanisms to create breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation and digital transformation.
The important point in the resolution is to allow financial support for the construction of the first plant to serve research, training and production of semiconductor chips.
Enterprises investing in the plant following the PM’s request will be supported, according to Lịch.
The State will support 30 per cent of the total project investment directly from the central budget in case the plant is accepted and put into production before December 31, 2030, with the total support amount not exceeding VNĐ10 trillion ($391.6 million).
During the project preparation and implementation, an annual deduction of more than 10 per cent but not exceeding 20 per cent of the enterprise’s taxable income can be made for the enterprise’s science and technology development fund to supplement the project.
The total amount of deduction must not exceed the project’s total investment.
The PM will decide to select enterprises to perform the task and specific level of support.
Minister of Information and Communications Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng said that it was the first time the State supported investment projects for laboratories, so the first semiconductor chip plant would be both research and small-scale production.
FPT and Viettel have now entered the field of semiconductor chip design and production.
Viettel has announced the successful design of the 5G DFE chip – the most complex chip in Southeast Asia to date.
The chip processes 5G radio signals and can process 1,000 billion calculations per second.
Nguyễn Trung Kiên, Deputy Head of the Semiconductor Technology Department under the Viettel Group, said: “The semiconductor industry is a difficult industry, requiring in-depth knowledge in research, design, and production of electronic systems, information technology, and high-tech industry.”
Major General Nguyễn Đình Chiến, Deputy General Director of Viettel Group, added: “Viettel identifies it as a long journey, requiring a reasonable and solid approach in both basic research and business.
“To develop the semiconductor industry, it is necessary to design and manufacture chips that meet the needs of businesses, domestic electronic systems, and national security needs.
“This is the foundation for developing advanced, new-generation chip technologies, and expanding supply abroad.”
Lê Quang Đạm, CEO of Marvell Technology Việt Nam, said it was a “once in a century” opportunity for Vietnamese semiconductors to develop in the context of continued complex geopolitical conflicts.
“This opportunity does not come by itself, we have to create it,” he said.
“We have a clear strategy, with attention from the Government and Vietnamese or Vietnamese-origin engineers. Talents in the industry or outside the industry, need to unite to create value for the country.”