Dear Minister, what favorable conditions has Vietnam prepared to welcome "eagles" in the semiconductor industry to invest?
- First, Vietnam has a stable political system and strong determination from the Party and State leaders in promoting innovation and developing advanced technology industries. The Government has established a National Steering Committee for the Development of the Semiconductor Industry, headed by the Prime Minister, demonstrating the support of the head of the Government in the development of the semiconductor industry.
Second, with a population of over 100 million people, Vietnam is in the "golden population" period with a young, enthusiastic, dynamic workforce, aspiration to contribute, and the ability to quickly access science, technology and STEM fields, making it a potential human resource and market for high-tech industries.
Third, Vietnam has formed a semiconductor industrial ecosystem with the participation of many partners and high-tech enterprises. In fact, our country has attracted many large investors in the world in the semiconductor field with important stages: Research and development design, electronics packaging, production. Of which, there are about 50 leading investors in the world in the semiconductor field present in Vietnam such as Samsung, Intel, Amkor... A series of other "big guys" are also about to land in Vietnam. The US government has selected Vietnam as one of 6 countries in the world to participate in the Innovation and Technology Security Fund (ITSI).
Fourth, Vietnam has created an attractive business environment with many incentives for high-tech enterprises. It is expected that in 2024, the Government will issue a Decree on the establishment, management and use of the Investment Support Fund to directly support enterprises in the semiconductor sector.
The National Innovation Center (NIC) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, along with three high-tech parks in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang and many industrial parks with modern infrastructure, are ready to welcome semiconductor investors with preferential and favorable support mechanisms.
What actions has Vietnam taken to promote and develop human resource advantages in the semiconductor industry, Minister?
- Recognizing the advantages and opportunities of human resources, the Government has issued the Strategy for Semiconductor Industry Development to 2030 and Vision to 2050, with the goal of making Vietnam a global semiconductor human resource center by 2030 and a global semiconductor and electronics industry center by 2040.
The Vietnamese Government has identified: Promoting the strengths of Vietnamese culture and people to become a strategic breakthrough in the country's socio-economic development in the new era. In particular, focusing on investing in developing high-quality human resources for the semiconductor industry to meet domestic and foreign needs. The Ministry of Planning and Investment has submitted to the Prime Minister for approval the Human Resources Development Program for Vietnam's semiconductor industry with the goal of training at least 50,000 human resources with university degrees or higher by 2030, 1,300 lecturers with specialized training in semiconductors, building national and grassroots laboratories to serve the training of human resources for the semiconductor industry.
In recent years, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has proactively implemented the Semiconductor Human Resource Development Program, closely coordinating with the Ministry of Education and Training and relevant agencies; has accompanied leading domestic and international enterprises and universities to introduce the most modern training programs and software into teaching, especially in areas such as microchip design, testing and packaging. During the implementation process, NIC has closely cooperated and gathered the participation and support of many large semiconductor enterprises such as Cadence, Synosyps, Qorvo, Siemens, Marvell, ARM, Samsung, etc.
In addition, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has assigned NIC to coordinate with the US Department of State and Arizona State University to launch and implement the program in Vietnam, with the goal of training more than 4,000 microchip packaging and testing engineers from now until the end of 2025. At the same time, Vietnam is also actively cooperating with the United States, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan (China), Europe, etc. to jointly train human resources and develop the semiconductor and artificial intelligence industries.
Dear Minister, to create an attractive environment for foreign enterprises to invest in the semiconductor industry in Vietnam, what additional policies do we need?
- The Ministry of Planning and Investment has submitted to the National Assembly for consideration special policies for the high-tech industry, including semiconductors. Enterprises investing in industrial parks and export processing zones in Vietnam do not need to apply for a license, they only need to register their investment and within 15 days will be granted an investment registration certificate. When granted an investment registration certificate, enterprises only need to commit to implementing issues related to construction, environment, and fire prevention and fighting - 3 issues where our country's procedures are currently complicated and cumbersome.
This policy has changed from pre-inspection to post-inspection to shorten the time. Once the regulations and standards are issued, businesses will have to comply, then there will be an inspection agency, detecting violations and handling them according to regulations. The semiconductor industry is a "race" because it is very competitive, if we are not prepared, businesses can invest in other countries.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment is also submitting to the National Assembly an Investment Support Fund that will use the State budget to support businesses in the semiconductor industry such as building R&D centers for research and development, training human resources, supporting the construction of housing for workers, etc. In particular, there is another new point that can be formed and used from the central budget or establish a local support fund, using the local budget.
Thank you Minister for sharing!
