With significant shifts occurring in the global semiconductor industry, Vietnam is striving to elevate its role in the international chip supply chain.

The semiconductor industry profoundly impacts the global economy. Semiconductors are foundational to computing devices and data centers, playing a crucial role in the development of smartphones, IoT devices, and soon the AI era.

Amid these transformations in the global semiconductor sector, Vietnam has emerged as a promising destination with bright growth prospects.

Vietnam is seizing the opportunity to become deeply integrated into the semiconductor industry and has shown a clear ambition to establish itself as a key link in the global semiconductor supply chain.

Commenting on this trend, Dr. Vo Xuan Hoai, Deputy Director of the National Innovation Center (NIC, Ministry of Planning and Investment), noted that many leaders of global semiconductor technology corporations have recently visited Vietnam, along with major testing and packaging firms.

This shows that Vietnam has a strong semiconductor ecosystem, providing an opportunity for global semiconductor firms to explore Vietnam as a potential destination.

“With the shift of supply chains, particularly from China, Vietnam is one of the nations chosen for deeper integration into the global semiconductor supply chain, thanks to its high-quality and abundant workforce. As a result, Vietnam has become an attractive destination for the semiconductor industry,” Dr. Hoai shared.

According to Dr. Hoai, to boost Vietnam’s position in the global semiconductor supply chain, the country needs to be well-prepared in terms of infrastructure, including power, clean water, and logistics.

Recently, the Vietnamese government and related agencies have made significant efforts to improve infrastructure investments, including power grids, airports, seaports, and highways, to support the growth of this industry.

In addition, the government has focused on creating policies, mechanisms, and incentives to foster the semiconductor industry, with a streamlined “one-stop” system and initial investment support policies.

Vietnam has also launched a national program to develop human resources in the semiconductor sector, aiming to train 50,000 engineers by 2030.

Looking to the future, Nguyen Thi Bich Yen, a senior expert at Soitec, predicted that the semiconductor industry will experience rapid growth from 2025 to 2030.

“The impact of this industry on the economy will be double what it has been over the past 60 years. This is not only an opportunity for Vietnam but for the entire world,” she stated.

According to Ms. Yen, the global semiconductor industry, especially with the growth of the AI era, will require over 1 million workers in the coming years. To diversify supply chains, semiconductor companies are turning to Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

Vietnam has a young, eager workforce known for resilience and perseverance, which positions it as a potential provider of skilled semiconductor labor to the world.

From her perspective as an expert, Ms. Yen acknowledged that semiconductor manufacturing demands substantial investment. Recently, however, advancements in microchip transistors have slowed, and costs are rising, driving the industry toward advanced packaging technology. This presents an opportunity for Vietnam.

This trend also simplifies chip design, making LED chip design easier than system-on-chip (SoC) design. This could be a niche for Vietnam to explore and get ahead of the curve.

“For long-term development, Vietnam could invest in university laboratories equipped with software to design LED chips. If successful, Vietnam could capture high-level opportunities in the industry,” Ms. Yen suggested.

Trong Dat