Vietnam's Semiconductor Aspirations: From Strategy to Breakthrough Action

Opening Ceremony of Vietnam Semiconductor Industry Exhibition 2025, November 7. (Photo: Vietnam+)

"We are living in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In line with the flow of the times, Vietnam is entering a period of strategic economic restructuring, taking science, technology and innovation as the main driving force."

The above content was emphasized by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung, Head of the National Steering Committee for Semiconductor Industry Development, at the Opening Ceremony of the Vietnam Semiconductor Industry Exhibition 2025 (SemiExpo Vietnam 2025) on November 7.

Solid foundation and superior policy

Accordingly, the Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam has not only stopped at orientation but a series of specific actions have been implemented drastically. Vietnam has established a National Steering Committee, issued a Strategy for Industry Development to 2050 and implemented a program to train 100,000 engineers by 2030. And, especially, perfected the legal corridor with the recently passed Law on Digital Technology Industry.

In addition, Vietnam continues to improve the legal framework and create a favorable environment for the semiconductor industry ecosystem (such as improving intellectual property institutions); Issue preferential policies and outstanding investment support (such as establishing an Investment Support Fund). These policies affirm Vietnam's long-term vision and determination to develop the semiconductor industry into one of the pillars of the digital economy, knowledge economy and green economy.

"Vietnam's development mindset is to strive to 'catch up, keep up and surpass' in advantageous fields, using the intelligence and innovation of the Vietnamese people themselves, even though it is behind," Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung affirmed.

The Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam has not only stopped at orientation but has also implemented a series of specific actions decisively. (Photo: Vietnam+)

To realize this aspiration, Vietnam is building an ecosystem based on solid foundations and breakthrough policies. Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Bui Hoang Phuong said that Vietnam has many potential factors from the shift in global supply chains, a strong electronics industry foundation (export turnover of more than 132 billion USD in 2024), to an abundant young workforce with about 7,000 microchip design engineers. Notably, the new legal framework has created unprecedented incentive mechanisms.

"The Law on Digital Technology Industry and related laws have provided special support mechanisms. Semiconductor manufacturing projects with investment capital of only VND6,000 billion will be subject to a 5% tax rate for 37 years, tax exemption for 6 years, 50% tax reduction for the next 13 years, along with many incentives on land and high-quality human resources," Mr. Phuong informed about the outstanding policies, clearly demonstrating the Government's strong commitment to rolling out the "red carpet" for strategic investors.

Vietnam is transforming strongly from a traditional manufacturing and assembly destination to participating more deeply in high-value stages such as advanced design and packaging.

Booth at the exhibition. (Photo: Vietnam+)

Not only attracting investment, Vietnam also focuses on developing its own internal capacity. According to Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Tam, Vietnam is strongly transforming from a traditional manufacturing and assembly destination to participating more deeply in high-value stages such as advanced design and packaging.

"The country has more than 50 chip design enterprises and 15 packaging and testing enterprises. In particular, Viettel's first chip factory is being accelerated, marking an important first step in the journey to master technology," Mr. Tam shared.

Here, Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Tam also affirmed that the Ministry of Finance is committed to accompanying enterprises, technology corporations, institutes and international organizations, focusing on promoting public-private cooperation, strengthening the 3-House linkage between the state - schools - enterprises, and selectively attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into high-value stages such as advanced design and packaging, to promote the comprehensive development of Vietnam's semiconductor industry and bring Vietnam faster on the journey "from aspiration to action."

With the theme “Promoting Vietnam’s semiconductor aspirations” - SemiExpo Vietnam 2025 will bring a special scale and stature, gathering about 5,000 delegates. (Photo: Vietnam+)

AI is the driving force and trust from the international community

Vietnam’s development strategy takes place in the context of the global semiconductor industry growing rapidly and being fueled by the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution. Sharing his perspective from the market, Mr. Clark Tseng, Vice President of SEMI, gave impressive figures on the AI capital market, which is expected to double to nearly 400 billion USD this year.

“We expect investment in AI and semiconductor factories to reach more than $125 billion per year and continue to expand,” said Clark Tseng, referring to the “AI fever” that is creating huge demand for high-performance chips and opening up historic opportunities for countries like Vietnam.

Semiconductor manufacturing projects with investment capital of only VND6,000 billion will be subject to a 5% tax rate for 37 years, tax exemption for 6 years, 50% tax reduction for the next 13 years, along with many incentives on land and high-quality human resources.

In fact, this opportunity has been clearly recognized by international partners. Ms. Linda Tan, President of the Semiconductor Association of Southeast Asia (SEMI SEA) shared emotionally: "Looking back on the journey since 2014, Vietnam has come a long way. We are extremely impressed with the openness, sincerity and willingness to listen of the Vietnamese Government. It is a strong starting point for Vietnam to continue to develop."

Ms. Linda Tan, President of the Semiconductor Association of Southeast Asia (SEMI SEA), shared that she was extremely impressed with the openness, sincerity and willingness to listen of the Vietnamese Government. (Photo: Vietnam+)

Sharing the same view, Mr. Ajit Manocha, Chairman of the Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SEMI), welcomed the rise of Vietnam as a new semiconductor hub, contributing to creating a more sustainable and adaptable global supply chain.

Affirming that SEMI is a great partner and is ready to accompany Vietnam, Chairman Ajit Manocha also pointed out the major challenges that the global semiconductor industry is facing. He likened these to "headwinds", including supply chain disruptions, difficulties in accessing raw materials, the rise of breakthrough technologies, such as AI and quantum computing, and complex geopolitical fluctuations.

To address these issues, SEMI is proactively implementing a series of strategic initiatives. These initiatives focus on promoting global policy, human resource development, ensuring sustainable development, supply chain management, as well as delving into key areas such as smart data, AI and advanced packaging technology.

With the theme "Promoting Vietnam's semiconductor aspirations" - SemiExpo Vietnam 2025 brings a special scale and stature, gathering about 5,000 delegates with more than 200 booths from technology giants (such as Lam Research, Coherent, Qorvo, Amkor, GlobalFoundries, Sandisk, Applied Materials, Micron, Tokyo Electron, KLA, STMicroelectronics, Soitec, Sandisk, Kulicke & Soffa, Dassault Systemes, Siemen...).

This second annual event demonstrates a stature, a place where intelligence and aspiration converge, with the promise to turn Vietnam into an important link on the global semiconductor technology map.

SemiExpo Vietnam 2025 exhibition with the participation of 200 booths from technology giants, such as Lam Researchcó, Coherent, Qorvo, Amkor, GlobalFoundries, Sandisk, Applied Materials, Micron, Tokyo Electron, KLA, STMicroelectronics, Soitec, Sandisk, Kulicke & Soffa, Dassault Systemes, Siemen... (Photo: Vietnam+)

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/khat-vong-ban-dan-viet-nam-tu-chien-luoc-den-hanh-dong-dot-pha-post1075608.vnp