Viettel, Vietnam's state-owned telecom service provider, reportedly has disclosed to the country's prime minister its intentions to branch out into chip manufacturing on top of its already developing electronic payment services.
With the global chip shortage severely impacting the manufacturing and business development sectors, many countries have started to view this shortage as a national security issue and are looking to produce chips themselves.
According to VnExpress International, the head of the Viettel Group under the Ministry of Defense, said in a meeting with prime minister Pham Minh Chinh that besides developing e-payment services, the company also intends to branch out into chip production.
Viettel believes that producing chips on its own can ensure Vietnam's national defense and safety. Viettel can also leverage its advantage and act as the leader of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in sectors such as high-tech defense, construction, and Internet security.
Regarding the e-payment service, Viettel is expected to build a national digital transformation platform to act as an agent for financial transfer and electronic liquidation services. This platform can be used between banks when transferring funds.
Prime minister Pham Minh Chinh reportedly supports Viettel's research and production of chip technology. He believes that for Vietnam's digital transformation, including the construction of the digital government, digital economy, and digital society, Viettel should play a key role in an efficient and influential manner. The prime minister also agreed to let Viettel be the agency for financial transfers and liquidation services.
In the past few years, Viettel's average annual pre-tax profits have always been above VND40 billion (US$1.7 billion).
