Ho Chi Minh City "cleans the nest" to welcome "eagles" in the semiconductor industry

In March 2024, more than 50 US enterprises met with many relevant Vietnamese authorities to discuss investment in high-tech factories, semiconductor technology, chips, manufacturing industry, etc. Previously, at the end of 2023, more than 100 US enterprises also came to Ho Chi Minh City to explore investment and trade opportunities. What preparations has Ho Chi Minh City made to welcome the "eagles" to nest?

Research on manufacturing semiconductors for smart materials at the Ho Chi Minh City High-Tech Park Training Center. Photo: HOANG HUNG

Semiconductor businesses flock to Vietnam

Sharing about investment ambitions in Vietnam, the representative of the US delegation, Ms. Susan Burns, US Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, affirmed that US companies in many fields are targeting the Vietnamese market, especially in the fields of semiconductor investment and mining. The US government has also developed a detailed action plan, reviewing the entire legal framework and preferential policies to attract foreign investment in general and for US enterprises in particular that Vietnam has issued. At the same time, a budget of up to 240 million USD is spent to support US enterprises investing in Vietnam.

The moves from the US government have immediately prompted hundreds of leading technology companies in the country to seek opportunities to build factories or cooperate in investment and trade in Vietnam. One example is Kine SIC Semi Company - one of the leading companies producing high-tech chips. "This company produces good quality chips at low prices, can be applied in many fields and is very suitable for the Southeast Asian market. The company is planning to invest in a factory in Bac Ninh with a total investment of about 200 million USD," said Mr. Johnny Nguyen, Vice President of Kine SIC Semi Company.

Previously, Amkor Technology Group - the global leader in semiconductor packaging and testing technology, inaugurated a factory for manufacturing, assembling and testing semiconductor materials and equipment in Yen Phong II-C Industrial Park, Bac Ninh province, with a total area of ​​23 hectares. Or Intel Group has invested 1.5 billion USD in Vietnam. Recently, in its strategy to expand semiconductor production, this group has decided to invest in a factory in Germany with a total investment of about 33 billion USD.

Regarding the investment potential of the semiconductor industry in Vietnam, Mr. Ramachandran AS (RamC), Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, said that the strong investment of American enterprises in Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular comes from the favorable investment environment in Vietnam. In addition, Vietnam is very attractive in the eyes of foreign investors because it has the second largest rare earth reserves in the world (after China), but has not been exploited.

Select strategic investors

Grasping the investment needs of foreign semiconductor enterprises, since the end of 2023, Ho Chi Minh City has had many solutions to create favorable conditions to attract US enterprises to invest in the city. First of all, within the framework of the visit and work in the US, the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee signed a cooperation agreement with the Green Alliance. Accordingly, the two sides will support the implementation of the following contents: cooperation in organizing investment and business activities towards green growth to sustainable development in Ho Chi Minh City; cooperation in investing in building a private sector innovation center in Ho Chi Minh City and investment cooperation in applying artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of transportation.

In addition, to be ready to welcome the investment wave of foreign enterprises in general and American enterprises in particular, many solutions to improve the investment environment and infrastructure have been urgently deployed. Mr. Hua Quoc Hung, Head of the Management Board of Export Processing Zones - Industrial Parks (EPZs - IPs) of Ho Chi Minh City, said that the city has conducted a comprehensive review of the entire status of EPZs - IPs. On that basis, the EPZs and IPs will be converted into ecological IPs and high-tech IPs through technological innovation, increasing added value and being environmentally friendly.

Particularly for some newly built industrial parks such as Le Minh Xuan 3, Pham Van Hai..., construction is carried out according to the models of specialized industrial parks, ecological industrial parks, supporting industrial parks, high-tech industrial parks, industrial parks - urban - services. In addition, the city coordinates with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to pilot the conversion of Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park into an ecological industrial park. At the same time, deploying an additional high-tech industrial park and supporting industry for high-tech development.

Mr. Pham Binh An, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies, emphasized that the city currently has 20 semiconductor investors who have been operating in production. Recently, to create conditions for new enterprises in this industry to invest as well as create an ecosystem to support existing enterprises to expand production scale, the city has actively attracted investment and formed large-scale research and innovation centers, improving productivity, quality and efficiency of industries. In particular, industrial infrastructure has been modernized towards high technology.

At the recent dialogue forum between Ho Chi Minh City leaders and foreign enterprises, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai affirmed that, along with "cleaning the nest" to welcome "eagles", the city is committed to quickly selecting strategic investors according to a shortened process and enjoying outstanding incentives in addition to other incentives. For research and development activities, enterprises will be included in deductible expenses to determine taxable income. On the other hand, enterprises will also enjoy preferential treatment in customs procedures according to investment projects...

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Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/tphcm-don-to-don-dai-bang-nganh-ban-dan-post734282.html