US to help Vietnam ramp up semiconductor industry

[Viet]

U.S. President Joe Biden attends a meeting with Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, at the Communist Party of Vietnam Headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, September 10, Acquire Licensing RightsRead more

By Anh Minh
Mon, September 11, 2023 | 11:26 am GTM+7
The White House has announced a set of new initiatives to propel the partnership with Vietnam in science and technology, with a focus on the semiconductor industry, as the former recognizes the latter’s potential to play a critical role in building resilient semiconductor supply chains.

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Addressing a joint press briefing Vietnam’s Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong in Hanoi late Sunday, U.S. President Joe Biden said the two countries were “deepening our cooperation on critical and emerging technologies, particularly around building a more resilient semiconductor supply chain.”

Under the fresh bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership which was announced by the two leaders, the two countries have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on Semiconductor Supply Chains, Workforce and Ecosystem Development that will formalize bilateral partnership to expand the capacity of the semiconductor ecosystem in Vietnam, in support of U.S. industry.

Under the International Technology Security and Innovation Fund, created by the CHIPS Act of 2022, the U.S. will partner with Vietnam to further develop Vietnam’s current semiconductor ecosystem, regulatory framework, and workforce and infrastructure needs.

In addition, the two countries will launch comprehensive workforce development initiatives in Vietnam that jointly develop hands-on teaching labs and training courses for semiconductor assembly, testing, and packaging.

Vietnam is facing a critical shortage of skilled engineers for this industry. Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said on September 6 that Vietnam needs some 20,000 semiconductor engineers per year, of which less than 20% of demand is met.

Other initiatives that will see bilateral partnership include the Developing Electronics & Leading Technology Advancement Partnerships (DELTA) network and the Vietnam-U.S. Science and Technology Agreement for Research (VUSTAR).

Regarding business-to-business ties, several U.S. chip companies have plans to invest or expand operations in Vietnam. Among them, Arizona-based Amkor Technology will start operations at a $1.6-billion factory in the northern province of Bac Ninh in October.

Synopsys is launching a semiconductor design and incubation center in collaboration with the Saigon Hi-Tech Park while Marvell will announce the establishment of a world class semiconductor design center in Ho Chi Minh City.

US to help Vietnam boost semiconductor industry development

Recognizing that Vietnam can play a critical role in building resilient semiconductor supply chains, the US has announced a set of new initiatives to strengthen bilateral sci-tech ties.

theinvestor.vn

 

[Bilal9]

Brother @Viet - are there FABless chip design houses in Vietnam?

FABs (Chip Fabrication Units) as we know are massively expensive (Multi-Billion dollar) undertakings. Don't know if Vietnam has set them up already - except the promised US investments.

 

[Viet]

Brother @Viet - are there FABless chip design houses in Vietnam?

FABs (Chip Fabrication Units) as we know are massively expensive (Multi-Billion dollar) undertakings. Don't know if Vietnam has set them up already - except the promised US investments.

I think no not yet. Maybe in near future something coming up from Vingroup, Viettel. We need US companies like Amkor, Synosys, Marvel, Apple, Intel, IBM, Juniper, etc. as initial step then 5 or 10 years down the road Vietnam will build own stuffs.

 

[Skull and Bones]

Vietnam has Intel chip packaging house if I remember correctly.

 

[Viet]

Vietnam has Intel chip packaging house if I remember correctly.

Yes fabs for testing, assembly, packaging. 80 percent of Intel semiconductor, computer CPUs, SOC system on a chip, come from Vietnam.