Deputy Prime Minister Nguyễn Chí Dũng declared Vietnam poised to become a central hub in global semiconductor supply chains, leveraging strategic international partnerships and an aggressive talent development drive to capitalise on shifting global production dynamics.
Speaking during high-level talks with Taiwan’s Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hanoi, the Deputy PM underscored the nation’s firm commitment to transforming its burgeoning tech ecosystem into a semiconductor powerhouse.
Vietnam’s ascent follows a meticulously crafted blueprint anchored by Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính’s Decision No. 1018/QĐ-TTg, which outlines a phased “C = SET + 1” strategy. This framework prioritises Specialised chip development (S), Electronics manufacturing (E), Technology human resources (T), and positions Vietnam (+1) as a secure, geopolitically neutral destination for semiconductor investment.
The roadmap targets audacious milestones: establishing 100 design firms and 10 packaging plants by 2030, scaling to $100 billion in annual semiconductor revenue by 2050, and training 50,000 engineers this decade alone.
The Taiwanese delegation, led by Council Chairman Hong-Yuan Lee, unveiled concrete support measures, including an expert advisory group featuring 16 globally prominent semiconductor specialists, former executives from leading foundries, academics from US and Taiwanese universities, and specialists spanning chip design to quantum computing.
In a significant human capital investment, the Council announced 100 fully funded scholarships for Vietnamese managers, academics, and students in semiconductor disciplines, with the first cohort commencing in September 2025 during the SEMICON Taiwan exhibition. Deputy PM Dũng welcomed the initiative, emphasising that human resources are Vietnam’s strongest asset in achieving semiconductor sovereignty.
This complements domestic efforts like the Vietnam Semiconductor Hub for Education, which provides 300 scholarships for microchip design training, and Samsung Vietnam’s collaboration with the National Innovation Centre (NIC) to deliver AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) courses for 200 students.
Despite Vietnam’s current pool of just 6,000 semiconductor engineers, the government aims to bridge the gap through university partnerships with firms like FPT, which pledged to train 5,000 specialists by 2030, and NVIDIA’s collaboration with 65 Vietnamese universities on AI-integrated curricula.
However, while talent development accelerates, challenges persist in power stability and infrastructure readiness. Semiconductor fabrication requires uninterrupted electricity, a vulnerability highlighted in government assessments acknowledging that minor power outages could lead to losses worth hundreds of millions.
To address this, authorities are implementing the National Power Development Plan VIII while industrial zones like Thuan Thanh in Bắc Ninh develop dedicated grids and wastewater systems tailored for high-tech tenants.
