Vietnam and the US held an economic dialogue in Washington DC on June 25, the first since the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership last year. The semiconductor industry was among the focuses of this event, co-chaired by Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung and US Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose W. Fernandez, with concrete measures devised to enhance cooperation in this field.
In mid-May, Marvell Technology, Inc., a giant in chip and semiconductor solutions for data infrastructure, announced the launch of its third office in Vietnam. The new facility, following the two previous ones in Ho Chi Minh City, is based in central Da Nang city, expected to help Marvell expand its operation network and develop a world-class semiconductor design centre in the country.
These are among the latest moves by US authorities and businesses over the past few months in efforts to fuel semiconductor cooperation with Vietnam.
Leverage for stronger relations
The Vietnam - US cooperation in the semiconductor industry have gained a strong leverage since US President Joe Biden paid a state visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on September 10 - 11, 2023. During this trip, the two countries upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
Cooperation in high technology, including the semiconductor industry, forms a notable part of the Joint Leaders’ Statement issued on this occasion.
“Vietnam and the United States decided to strengthen science, technology, and digital innovation cooperation, regarding this as a new breakthrough of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The United States affirmed its commitment to increasing support for Vietnam in the training and development of a high-tech workforce.
“Acknowledging Vietnam’s tremendous potential as a major player in the semiconductor industry, the two Leaders pledged to support the rapid development of Vietnam’s semiconductor ecosystem and to work together energetically to improve Vietnam’s position in the global semiconductor supply chain. Toward this end, the United States and Vietnam announced the launch of semiconductor workforce development initiatives – supported by initial seed funding of 2 million USD from the U.S. government, in conjunction with future Vietnamese government and private sector support,” according to the statement.
Adam Sitkoff, Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi (AmCham Hanoi), highlighted how great it is that Vietnam and the US upgraded their relationship. “Now we see that the two countries are close friends in all kinds of areas from health and working on diseases prevention, fighting crime and terrorism to cooperating in economics and education.”
Talking to the press on January 26, 2024 during a visit to Vietnam, US Under Secretary Fernandez said: “We support a strong, independent, resilient and prosperous Vietnam. It's something that was highlighted and strengthened by the comprehensive strategic partnership.”
“Our relations frankly have never been stronger,” he stated.
US firms keen on semiconductor ties with Vietnam
“Semiconductor is something that both countries and both governments want to work on together. The US government sees that Vietnam has been successful in many areas economically, and they figure that the next phase of economic competitiveness is to try to attract that semiconductor supply chain here into Vietnam,” Sitkoff said in a recent interview granted to the VNA.
“There is a lot of room for growth for Vietnam in developing its supply chain and being part of the global semiconductor designing and manufacturing sector in the future. So we expect to see companies try to do more in Vietnam in the future,” according to the AmCham Hanoi leader.
In December 2023, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) of the US and many member businesses like Intel, Qualcom, Ampere, and ARM came to the Southeast Asian country to learn about the local investment climate.
At a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi on December 7, 2023, SIA President John Neuffer spoke highly of Vietnam’s human resources in the semiconductor industry as well as high technology sectors. He affirmed that Vietnam is the most attractive destination for US semiconductor investors and can act as a strategic partner in manpower supply.
He said US enterprises are looking forwards to Vietnam’s national strategy for semiconductor development. They hope the country will play a more important role in global supply chains and quickly seize the new opportunities in this field, especially in terms of chip design which doesn’t require as much investment as manufacturing.
US enterprises are ready to augment semiconductor cooperation with Vietnam, particularly in training high-quality manpower, to help foster win-win relations, the SIA President added.
Aside from Marvell, a number of other semiconductor enterprises of the US have also expressed their willingness to cooperate with and assist Vietnam to develop this industry.
Intel, a leading semiconductor manufacturer of the US, has disbursed nearly 2 billion USD in investment in the Saigon Hi-Tech Park. Its factory here is playing a crucial part in the firm’s global packaging system. Intel intends to continue investing in Vietnam.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm has worked with Vietnamese partners in digital transformation for about 20 years. It also plans to continue expanding ties with the country in developing the semiconductor industry.
US ready to assist
Under Secretary Fernandez told the media that there are 15 semiconductor companies who have said they are prepared to invest as much as 8 billion USD in Vietnam.
He noted his country will help Vietnam in developing the semiconductor workforce, improving the investment environment for the semiconductor industry, which are among the hardest, biggest constraints that companies face as they try and expand their semiconductor supply chains.
"The US will work with Vietnam in supporting Vietnamese schools to have over 50,000 engineers in this field in the next few years. That's important for Vietnam’s development of a semiconductor industry.
"There are companies right now that are telling us that they want to invest in Vietnam, but they're having trouble finding the qualified workforce, and this is not just limited to Vietnam. In the US, we have the same issue. We have companies that have said we are ready to invest. We have the funding, but we can't find the qualified workforce. We will work with Vietnam on the improvement of their workforce," the official continued.
Fernandez believes Vietnam has a lot of advantages – a young qualified workforce i.e. "demographic dividends", a large domestic market of 100 million people, and an exporting culture – all of which align with the US in its goal diversifying its supply chains.
Giving more details on this issue, Sitkoff pointed out that the semiconductor sector requires highly skilled people that are skilled in very specific areas, and there is a shortage of such workers in both the US and Vietnam.
“The US government has money to spend here in Vietnam, also on helping raise that skill and education level, and work with universities, training facilities, and the Vietnamese government on how to get Vietnamese engineers up to that next level,” the AmCham Hanoi Executive Director told the VNA, adding he thinks the US companies and global companies also have a role to play in that partnership.
Among US partners, leaders of NVIDIA like President and CEO Jesen Huang or Vice President of Worldwide AI Initiatives Keith Strier have come to Vietnam in separate visits, pledging to boost AI and semiconductor cooperation, including building supercomputing centres in Vietnam, training AI and semiconductor manpower, and developing an ecosystem for AI-related research and development and startups.
During PM Chinh’s trip to the US, on September 18, 2023, Synopsys, a global leader in electronic design automation, semiconductor intellectual property and software security, and the Authority of Information Technology and Communication Industry under the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on assistance for developing the semiconductor industry in the country.
The same day, this company inked another MoU on cooperation with the Vietnam National Innovation Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment to develop integrated circuit design manpower in Vietnam. Accordingly, Synopsys will help NIC to set up a chip design incubator in the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park in the suburbs of Hanoi.
Besides, Silvaco Group, Inc.,signed a strategic cooperation deal with FPT Semiconductor, an affiliate of Vietnamese conglomerate FPT, to develop manpower and do business in this highly potential sector.
“Both countries are now committed to collaborating and fostering an ecosystem that promotes high-tech manufacturing, with a particular focus on semiconductor manufacturing. This collaborative effort includes workforce development, as Vietnam has demonstrated strength in cultivating a skilled workforce in high-tech fields such as computer scientists, engineers,” US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc E. Knapper replied to VNA questions.
“Over the next several years, and we, the United States, very much want to be a part of that. So the US government is working directly with the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment to promote innovation and create an environment conducive to high-tech advancements,” according to the diplomat.
