Pressure sensor equipment to calculate water levels – a product of the IC industry in HCMC (Photo: SGGP)

However, lately, there seems to be a decrease in this growth speed, asking the municipal authorities to adjust direction and introduce more practical policies to effectively boost the industry.

In the Congress for the 2^nd term (lasting from 2019 – 2024) of HCMC Semiconductor Industry Association (HSIA), nine key programs were approved. They focus on perfecting the Association’s structure, ensuring member rights, participating in mechanism and policy preparation stages, training human resources of the IC field, organizing international conferences and contests.

In this Congress, HSIA also signed collaboration agreements with Saigon Hi-tech Park (SHTP) to build an IC board laboratory, with Vietnam National University – HCMC to promote IC training programs, and with HCMC Computer Association (HCA) to host major events for HSIA.

Other activities aiming encouraging the development of the microchip industry in the city soon followed this event.

SHTP Incubation Center and HSIA co-organized a meeting to help hi-tech startups commercialize their products in March 2020 at ITO VN Co. Ltd. This company specializes in manufacturing hi-tech automatic equipment for the electronics industry and has branch offices in 18 nations, and thus being able to aid technological startups to expand their market worldwide.

HSIA also connected with Qualcomm Incorporated in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia in proposing a suitable mechanism for the growth of the IC industry in HCMC, based on the support of Qualcomm’s product ecosystem.

HSIA then hosted an informal meeting between startups in the microchip industry and DunAn Sensing – a company specializing in supplying adapters and pressure sensors – to help products enter the market more smoothly.

President of HSIA Nguyen Anh Tuan stated that the municipal authorities have whole-heartedly created advantageous conditions for the development of the IC industry in HCMC. What is more, members of HSIA are prestigious and strong businesses that are able to collaborate well with one another for the sustainable growth if this industry.

He added that these companies can attract a large quantity of talented human resources via their own partnerships with educational institutes. As a results, their products can easily dominate the domestic market and are intended to enter the international one.

Leading enterprises like Sao Bac Dau, Lac Viet, ITO, and SENVI, along with the support of global giants such as IBM and Japanese partners, are planning to form an ecosystem for a close supply chain in order to expand the market more conveniently.

“We are highly aware of the expectation of the authorities toward our industry since it is identified as the field with a significant growth rate and the foundation for the general development of HCMC, in particular the transformation into a smart city. We also know that our industry need to contribute to addressing current issues of the city, ranging from traffic congestions, urban flooding, air pollution, to infrastructure upgrading. Therefore, HSIA is actively seeking proper development directions to create breakthroughs to fulfill those goals”, said Mr. Tuan. SGGP

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