PM urges Qualcomm to deepen investment in core tech, semiconductors

Hanoi (VNA) - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh urged Qualcomm Inc., the US chip and wireless technology giant, to continue expanding investment in Vietnam, with a focus on core technologies and higher-value segments of the semiconductor supply chain, during a reception in Hanoi on August 12 for its President and CEO Cristiano Amon in Hanoi.

The PM lauded Qualcomm’s two-decade partnership with Vietnam, spanning mobile connectivity, technology transfer, artificial intelligence (AI) research, STEM education, startup incubation, and innovation ecosystem development. He highlighted Qualcomm’s launch of an AI research and development centre in Hanoi, now its third-largest globally after the US and India.

He congratulated Qualcomm and the state-owned Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) on signing an agreement during Amon’s visit to establish the VNPT–Qualcomm Centre of Excellence. He outlined Vietnam’s economic targets, aiming for 8.3-8.5% GDP growth in 2025 and double-digit growth in the coming years, fueled by knowledge, sci-tech, innovation, and digital transformation.

He also urged Qualcomm to partner with Vietnamese companies, research institutes, universities and the National Innovation Centre to foster a startup ecosystem, integrate local firms deeper into Qualcomm’s global supply and production chains, and share expertise in governance, institutional reform and workforce training. He pointed to new incentives for foreign experts and scientists in hi-tech industries, including visa exemptions.

The Vietnamese Government is committed to a favourable business environment for profitable and efficient operations, based on a principle of working together, winning together, sharing joy and happiness, harmonising benefits and sharing risks, he said.

Amon, in reply, expressed optimism about Vietnam’s growth prospects and cooperation opportunities, praising Vietnam’s policies on sci-tech, innovation and digital transformation, as well as the rapid progress of Qualcomm’s Vietnamese partners such as Viettel, VNPT and FPT.

He detailed plans to collaborate in AI, semiconductors, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, electronics and smartphones, with the aim of making Vietnam a regional R&D hub, particularly for AI, saying that Qualcomm stays ready to nurture skilled Vietnamese talent.

Qualcomm, valued at about 160 billion USD, is a global leader in advanced wireless and 5G technology and is expanding into Edge AI. It has operated in Vietnam for over two decades, launching its first Southeast Asia R&D centre in Hanoi and recently acquiring a generative AI company from VinAI/Vingroup to bolster its AI capabilities.

Over the past two decades, Qualcomm has run multiple programmes to develop Vietnam’s innovation ecosystem, including the Qualcomm Vietnam Innovation Challenge, which has incubated 29 tech startups, raised over 32 million USD in funding, commercialised 25 products, registered 87 patents, and collaborated with Viettel and VNPT to advance 5G and WiFi technologies./.