Vietnam’s Prime Minister has approved a semiconductor development strategy detailing targets and plans for the industry, which includes doubling semiconductor revenue between 2030 and 2040 from US$25 billion to US$50 billion, VietnamNet is reporting. It’s not clear how this goal will be realised with current media reports containing no specific policies only broad ‘areas of focus’.
Of note, Vietnam, as a key global electronics manufacturing hub, has been pursuing a greater role in semiconductor supply chains for sometime. However, it’s never been made clear exactly what a win would be in terms of Vietnam’s role in semiconductor manufacturing. No doubt a fabrication project would be a coup, but the reality is that investments of this magnitude command stable business environments with well educated workforces and very low risk and on all three Vietnam faces some distinct challenges.
It does, however, already have a place at the end of semiconductor supply chains in assembly, testing, and packaging. Low-value work to be sure but it does give Vietnam a foot in the door. Whether it can leverage this to move its way up semiconductor supply chains remains to be seen.