According to Mr. Nguyen Anh Thi, Head of the Management Board of Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP), design and packaging are the two stages Vietnam needs to focus on in the initial phase of its strategy to participate in the global semiconductor microchip supply chain.
Sharing with the press on the sidelines of the "Seminar on enhancing investment cooperation opportunities with the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC) and Vietnam" recently organized by the Department of ICT Industry under the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) in Hanoi, Mr. Nguyen Anh Thi said that microchip design enterprises are trending toward shifting their operations and seeking investment opportunities in Vietnam.
Within ASEAN, Vietnam remains a country with an advantage in ICT human resources. However, this is currently just a potential. For this human resource to become a force that can effectively serve the microchip design industry, rapid training is required.
On the other hand, Mr. Nguyen Anh Thi also believes that we need policies to attract talented experts in the semiconductor microchip field who are overseas Vietnamese to return and work in the country. According to the Head of the SHTP Management Board, one important policy to attract this workforce is personal income tax exemption or reduction, for example, granting a personal income tax exemption for five years.
Mr. Nguyen Anh Thi, Head of the SHTP Management Board, shares his views on developing the electronics and semiconductor microchip industries in Vietnam. (Photo: P.Giang)
The orientation to make Vietnam a part of the global semiconductor supply chain was shared by representatives of the MIC and the Department of ICT Industry at the seminar on investment cooperation opportunities with IMEC.
Specifically, according to Deputy General Director in charge of the Department of ICT Industry Nguyen Thien Nghia, Vietnam will participate step-by-step in the semiconductor microchip ecosystem. In the first step, it may continue providing services such as packaging, testing, and design for major tech corporations. Afterward, the country will consider establishing chip manufacturing operations in Vietnam or delving deeper into packaging and testing.
Expressing his views on what Vietnam needs to do to become part of the global semiconductor supply chain, SHTP Head Nguyen Anh Thi emphasized the need to base actions on current capabilities and Vietnam's strengths to focus on those specific niches. Research by international organizations, such as the US Semiconductor Industry Association, has pointed out that design and packaging are two stages where Vietnam has potential and strengths. Therefore, Vietnam needs to focus on these two stages in the initial phase.
According to Mr. Nguyen Anh Thi, if solely focusing on the back-end stage, domestic microchip design enterprises will lose their jobs in the future. (Illustrative photo: Internet)
The Head of the SHTP Management Board also made recommendations on what needs to be focused on in each stage of semiconductor microchip design or packaging.
Specifically, within the design stages, Vietnam currently handles primarily the back-end stage (assembly operations) and is still weak in the front-end part (processing operations), which holds great added value. To be competitive in design, right from now on, domestic microchip design enterprises need to step up and undertake stages with higher value.
Regarding packaging, Mr. Nguyen Anh Thi believes that Vietnam needs to attract more enterprises within the ecosystem of strategic investors in the semiconductor sector, such as Intel. Concurrently, it is necessary to note the trend of heterogeneous packaging. As technology follows this new trend, the packaging stage, which seems to have low added value, will become a high-value stage. Thus, in packaging, domestic enterprises must also step up to perform front-end work instead of just focusing on the back-end, while simultaneously updating themselves on new technology trends in the industry.
The SHTP representative further shared that in August 2023, the unit and an international partner are expected to launch a Microchip Incubation Center to support the formation of domestic enterprises working in the front-end stage. "We also need to form enterprises capable of designing electronic products in order to build the electronics and semiconductor microchip industry," Mr. Nguyen Anh Thi assessed.
As for the Information Technology Institute under Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Director Tran Xuan Tu stated that this research and training facility is also ready for various forms of cooperation in microchip design and semiconductor technology with units like IMEC. Examples include exchanging students and scientists, coordinating PhD training, implementing research projects, and deploying short-term training and fostering programs in the field of microchip design and semiconductor technology.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/viet-nam-duoc-danh-gia-cao-ve-thiet-ke-va-dong-goi-vi-mach-ban-dan-2142199.html