The future of Vietnam's semiconductor industry - Part 1: Aspiration to move up the high value chain

Vietnam’s semiconductor industry is facing a historic opportunity to transform itself from the role of assembly and testing at the end of the value chain to advanced design and manufacturing segments. This determination is clearly demonstrated through the Government’s strategic policies and the presence of the world’s leading technology corporations.

However, to realize this billion-dollar aspiration, Vietnam must quickly resolve the biggest bottleneck, which is the gap in high-quality talent, and build a systematic strategy, coordinating actions between the State, businesses and educational institutions.

Vietnam is realizing its aspiration to join the global semiconductor chain. Illustrative photo

Lesson 1: Aspiration to move up the value chain

Vietnam is gradually asserting its position as a potential destination for the global semiconductor industry. In the context of the strong growth of the global chip market, Vietnam is realizing its aspiration to participate deeply in high-value stages, as evidenced by a series of strategic policies, the presence of leading global corporations and specific steps of domestic enterprises.

Billion dollar opportunity and the mark of global enterprises

The global semiconductor market is experiencing a period of strong growth, creating great opportunities for countries with clear strategies like Vietnam. Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Tam said that a report by the US Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) showed that global semiconductor industry revenue in 2024 increased by about 18.1% compared to 2023, reaching 626 billion USD. The industry is expected to continue to grow by about 12% in 2025, bringing the total market value to about 700 billion USD. The growth momentum mainly comes from the explosive demand of areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), data centers, electric cars and 5G devices.

Recognizing the important role of the semiconductor industry, the Party, the National Assembly, the Government and the Prime Minister have issued many strategic policies and guidelines in recent times. Typical examples are Resolution 57 and Resolution 68 of the Politburo, along with resolutions of the National Assembly and the Law on Digital Technology Industry, creating favorable conditions for investment and development.

Vietnam's presence in the semiconductor supply chain is shifting to higher value-added. Illustrative photo

In particular, the semiconductor sector has been included in the list of 11 strategic technology sectors and has its own Program 1017 on human resource development. Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo has emphasized that breakthrough development in science, technology, innovation and digital transformation is a strategic breakthrough for the country's development.

Vietnam's presence in the supply chain is gradually shifting to higher value-added stages, such as the production of equipment, materials, semiconductor components, packaging and testing of semiconductor chips. Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Tam informed that the country has more than 50 enterprises designing microchips with an estimated engineering force of about 7,000 people. In particular, Vietnam is aiming to inaugurate Viettel's first chip manufacturing factory.

The fact that the world's leading technology corporations such as Nvidia and Qualcomm have chosen Vietnam as a strategic base for production, research and development of AI and semiconductor chips is considered a particularly important achievement in the journey of deep integration into the global value chain. This event has created a strong spillover effect, leading to a shift of supply chains with large values ​​into Vietnam, and at the same time, a leap forward in Vietnam's position on the global semiconductor and technology industry map.

Along with that, other corporations such as Intel, Samsung, Marvell, Renesas, Siemens EDA and Ampere Computing have also been attracted to Ho Chi Minh City, which early identified the semiconductor industry as a strategic field with the orientation of becoming the leading semiconductor industrial center in the region.

Human resource training strategy and multidimensional cooperation

Human resource development is one of the most important pillars to realize the aspiration to move up the value chain. Dr. Bui Xuan Minh, head of the Semiconductor Design and Industry 4.0 research group at RMIT University Vietnam, emphasized that the establishment of a national steering committee headed by the Prime Minister, along with a strategic plan to train 50,000 semiconductor engineers by 2030, has demonstrated a strong commitment from the highest level.

Regarding the implementation of Program 1017, Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Tam said that so far, the Program has completed 9/34 tasks and is implementing 25/34 tasks on schedule. Regarding training, 320 lecturers have participated in intensive training courses and about 6,300 university students are studying semiconductors. Regarding the training facility system, there are 166 university facilities training related to semiconductors and about 10 small-scale laboratories have been built.

Human resource development is one of the most important pillars to realize the aspiration to move up the value chain. Illustrative photo

To diversify resources, the Ministry of Finance has put into operation the first Semiconductor Incubation and Development Center in Vietnam. Notably, the Ministry of Finance has mobilized 1,000 microchip design copyrights worth tens of millions of USD from large corporations such as Cadence, Siemens, ARM, Lam Research to serve training at more than 30 universities. The three-house linkage model in semiconductor training is being strongly deployed.

International cooperation and business participation are being promoted. Japan, Taiwan (China), and Europe have agreed to support about 1,000 scholarships each year. The UK Ambassador to Vietnam, Mr. Iain Frew, said that the UK is strengthening strategic partnerships, in line with Vietnam's goal of training 50,000 semiconductor engineers.

In addition, Mr. Iain Frew also encouraged Vietnamese businesses to continue building this relationship through visits to the UK to explore training opportunities and improve skills in the semiconductor industry.

However, the semiconductor industry in our country is still basically focused on packaging and testing chips of all kinds, mainly from FDI factories. Dr. Bui Xuan Minh said that this is a risky game if there is no real investment in human resources, infrastructure and intellectual property protection.

To continue development, the Ministry of Finance proposed to selectively attract FDI, establish 100 design enterprises and 10 packaging, testing and semiconductor factories, along with intensive training for 1,300 lecturers and build 4 national shared semiconductor laboratories.

Experts say it is necessary to develop a comprehensive, complete and sustainable semiconductor industrial ecosystem through close coordination between the State - Schools, Institutes - Enterprises. Mr. Duong Minh Tam, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Semiconductor Technology Association, said that promoting startups and innovation in the semiconductor field is the most important cause to create a solid foundation for the development of the semiconductor industry.

Final Post: How to Avoid Getting Stuck on the Last Chain

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/khoa-hoc-cong-nghe/tuong-lai-nganh-ban-dan-viet-nam-bai-1-khat-vong-vuon-len-chuoi-gia-tri-cao-20250930094207286.htm