Director of the Department of Science and Technology for Economic Technical Branches Nguyen Phu Hung has talked more about Vietnam’s recent strategic cooperation with Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the US in semiconductor chip development during an interview granted to Vietnam News Agency at the regular press conference of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST).

Director of the Department of Science and Technology for Economic Technical Branches Nguyen Phu Hung has talked more about Vietnam’s recent strategic cooperation with Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the US in semiconductor chip development during an interview granted to Vietnam News Agency at the regular press conference of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST).

Hung said cooperation between Vietnam and the US in particular, as well as other countries in the field, has demonstrated significant opportunities for Vietnam. Vietnam has full potential to become one of the key players in the global value chain for this product.

In the joint statement on the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and the US, both sides acknowledged Vietnam's immense potential to become a key player in the semiconductor industry and its rapid development of the semiconductor ecosystem. The two countries will actively cooperate to enhance Vietnam's position in the global semiconductor supply chain, he said.

He also admitted that Vietnam now only has 5,000 semiconductor engineers, a modest workforce when it comes to the high-tech technology of the industry. Each type of semiconductor chip requires advanced technology, necessitating a skilled workforce. Therefore, in the coming years, Vietnam needs to focus on training, developing human resources, promoting research and technology transfer to quickly grasp core technologies in semiconductor development.

According to the official, the MoST set mastering chip design as a top priority in the semiconductor value chain, as design accounts for some 50-60% of a chip's value. Alongside collaboration with other countries, Vietnam is actively attracting investment from foreign companies and corporations to invest in labs and innovation centres in universities and research institutes.

He revealed that in the coming time, the MoST will continue giving priority to national sci-tech programmes related to semiconductor chips, work closely with ministries and agencies to push for the national semiconductor chip programme, and build investment policies and incentives for the provision of equipment for the measurement and testing of semiconductor chip products that meet ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standards, thus contributing to shortening production duration.

It will also step up technology search and transfer as well as  bilateral and multilateral cooperation programmes with countries which have advantages in science and technology. This effort aims to establish strong research groups capable of rapidly applying and mastering core technologies in this field, he said.

In conclusion, he believed that with the directions set by the MoST, the Government-directed policies and the concerted efforts of ministries and agencies, Vietnam will become one of the emerging semiconductor production hubs in the world in the future./.