The government of Vietnam decided to ramp up support for the semiconductor industry and announced plans to roll out a series of tax incentives and set up investment funds by mid-2024 to bolster the industry.
According to multiple media outlets, including Investor Magazine, Nikkei Asia, and official Vietnamese government sites, the National Assembly of Vietnam approved a resolution to allow the government to set up investment funds for high-tech companies, including semiconductor firms.
Huynh Thanh Dat, the Minister of Science and Technology of Vietnam, said the country would increase its support through the National Foundation for Science and Technology (NAFOSTED) and would formulate policies to support the supply of equipment for measuring and testing chips, helping cut production time and promote sales. Besides, Vietnam will enhance cooperation with local firms, such as Viettel, VNPT, FPT, and CMC, and provide funding for the industry. As of now, Vietnam has yet to disclose specific measures for tax credits.
Dat told Nikkei Asia that Vietnam has a low chip localization rate, R&D activities are not synchronized, and high-quality human resources in the fields are still limited.
To address the talent shortage, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications of Vietnam Nguyen Huy Dung, picked five universities in late January to train talents required for the semiconductor industry, including the Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, FPT University, and the University of Da Nang. Simultaneously, Samsung Electronics signed an agreement with VNH-Hanoi University of Engineering and Technology, offering students Korean language and semiconductor industry training courses. Besides, FPT Group joined hands with the National Innovation Center and industry experts from the US, setting up the Vietnam Semiconductor Hub for Education (VSHE) to train 50,000 engineers by 2030.
Vietnam has been attracting increasing investments from global semiconductor firms, including Intel, which set up a packaging and testing facility in southern Vietnam. Amkor's factory in Bac Ninh, with an investment of US$1.6 billion, was inaugurated in October 2023. Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, declared Vietnam the company's second home.
