As an expert in the field and having worked in science and technology management for a long time, how do you view the changes in Vietnam’s semiconductor industry?

The elevation of US - Vietnam relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is a favorable condition that opens opportunities to develop the country’s chip industry.

Strengthening cooperation with the US will help attract major enterprises in the field of chips and semiconductors to Vietnam for cooperation and investment, contributing to removing difficulties and obstacles in the development of the country’s semiconductor industry.

I think Vietnamese people have the capacity and qualifications in information technology and chip technology, and Vietnam has strong research groups in chip design. However, from research and testing to achieving international certification, commercializing and producing chip products is a long journey with huge investment costs.

Therefore, cooperating with foreign technology businesses like those in the US will create favorable conditions to promote the industry’s development. I believe that with favorable opportunities available, Vietnam’s chip industry will develop very quickly in the years to come.

There are many complex technological processes involved in creating a complete electronic chip product, from design and manufacturing semiconductors on wafers (silicon substrates for printing microchips) to testing and packaging. In Vietnam, businesses mostly design, test, and package products and there are no semiconductor production factories on an industrial scale. Does Vietnam need semiconductor factories?

Before US - Vietnam relations were upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, US companies invested in Vietnam in this field at a moderate level.

Even large chip technology enterprises like Intel only invested in Vietnam in the assembly and packaging stages and not designing and testing, which are considered the most important stages in chip production.

If Vietnam wants to have a developed chip and microchip industry, it needs to have a manufacturing facility. After chips are designed, they need to be tested in labs and manufactured at factories.

Vietnam is forecast to have relatively large reserves of rare earths. This is a strength for the country in exploiting and developing semiconductors.

Previously, Vietnam did not have a semiconductor electronic material industry, even though its rare earth reserves were estimated to be the third-largest in the world. Vietnam cooperated with Japan in the mining and processing of rare earths, but market demand at that time was too low.

At present, as the market is bigger, and with technological and financial support from developed countries, rare earth resources can be better exploited and processed, creating raw materials for the local semiconductor industry. This is an advantage for Vietnam in developing a semiconductor industry.

A number of domestic technology enterprises such as Viettel and FPT have conducted R&D and developed their own chipsets. How do you view the participation of Vietnamese technology enterprises in this field?

Research institutes and universities create human resources and conduct research, but businesses must still step in to create commercialization projects and are considered a key force. With capital and market potential and proactive production, businesses can realize and commercialize chip research.

FPT, for example, with its financial potential, strong research teams, and experience in software and information technology development, could take its advantages and invest in researching, designing, testing, manufacturing and commercializing chips.

The scale of the global semiconductor market is predicted to reach $1.4 trillion by 2029. With the developments mentioned above, how would you assess the opportunity for Vietnam to participate in exploiting the huge potential in the market?

In my opinion, the opportunities and prospects for Vietnam to exploit the market potential are bright. Vietnam may still face difficulties in technology transfer, design, testing and manufacturing in the next few years. This, however, can be overcome when Vietnam catches up with global supply and production chains.

In addition, Vietnam and the US upgrading their relations will help facilitate technology transfer.

What should Vietnam do to exploit these opportunities and prospects to attract investment and promote the development of the semiconductor industry?

Vietnam must demonstrate to the world its capacity and human resources in the chip and semiconductor industry. Initially, it is necessary to form and develop strong research and chip design groups from universities and research institutes in cooperation with businesses.

As well as international resources and investment from major global enterprises in the field, Vietnam needs to prepare internal resources and investment capital for chip research and production.

It must affirm its determination and consider the semiconductor industry as a breakthrough in the country’s industrial development.