On March 20th, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Karthik Rammohan, Group Vice President of Global Operations at Lam Research Corporation, and executives from South Korea's Seojin Company.

Lam Research, a California-based global leader in chip manufacturing equipment with $19 billion in revenue in 2022, is exploring expansion and supply chain diversification in Asia.

During the meeting, Mr. Rammohan expressed Lam Research's plans to partner with Seojin, which currently operates factories in Vietnam's Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces. This collaboration aims to establish manufacturing facilities and supply chains with an initial investment estimated between $1 and $2 billion.

Lam Research will evaluate this initial phase before considering further direct investment to expand operations in Vietnam.

Mr. Rammohan also sought information on Vietnam's investment promotion policies and programs that could support the development of semiconductor industry suppliers and supply chain ecosystems.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized the strategic partnerships Vietnam maintains with both the US and South Korea, with science, technology, and innovation as key areas of cooperation.

He expressed Vietnam's keen interest in attracting high-quality investments, particularly from major semiconductor and high-tech corporations like Lam Research, as global FDI flows shift.

Vietnam is actively working to train 50,000 to 100,000 engineers in the semiconductor industry by 2030 to meet the growing demand from enterprises. The country also offers an attractive investment environment, with major high-tech suppliers like Samsung, Intel, and Foxconn already present.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed hope that both Lam Research and Seojin will focus on research and development, technology transfer, and the development of Vietnam's semiconductor ecosystem, in addition to investment and manufacturing activities.