Nguyen Viet Hung, Director of Hanoi’s Department of Information and Communications, highlights Hanoi’s potential and investment attraction policies for the semiconductor industry and other digital technology.

In its capital planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, Hanoi has focused on developing its semiconductor and AI industries and leading other emerging industries in line with the world's technology trends.

Hanoi will become a center of science, technology, and innovation for the Red River Delta region and the country, a hub for designing and supplying semiconductor and AI products equal to the capitals of the most advanced countries in the region.

Nguyen Viet Hung, Director of Hanoi’s Department of Information and Communications, said that in the capital planning, support has been mentioned for the semiconductor industry and other digital technology.

“The Hoa Lac High-Tech Park, for example, will be located in in a new city in the west of Hanoi. Hanoi has the geography, transport infrastructure, and labor market to be a premier chip manufacturing center in Vietnam,” said Hung.

Hanoi has 11 industrial parks in operation with completed infrastructure, covering 2,930 hectares. Big brand names from industrialized countries have invested billions of dollars in these industrial parks and their products are part of the global value chain. Most noteworthy is the 1,600-hectare Hoa Lac High-Tech Park, whose 111 investment projects have a combined registered capital of 4.4 billion USD.

Hanoi plans to develop Hoa Lac High-Tech Park into a green technology district, a core district for high-tech development. 74 of its 109 active projects are involved in hi-tech product manufacturing and enjoy special incentives.

In addition to investing in infrastructure, Hanoi has continuously improved its investment and business environment, streamlining administrative procedures to reduce costs for individuals, organizations, and businesses.

Hanoi has implemented support policies for businesses and organized investment promotion activities and dialogues with businesses to reduce their production and trading obstacles.

Dr. Vo Xuan Hoai, Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Innovation Center (NIC) of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said, “Hanoi has the necessary conditions to develop its semiconductor industry, including the new Capital Law which will take effect on January 1, 2025, with many preferential policies specific to the semiconductor industry and AI. This law includes a controlled testing mechanism for new technologies and incentive mechanisms for investors to induce domestic and foreign experts to participate in these two industries.”

According to Hoai, “Hanoi has completed the basic infrastructure. Its Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park is home to high-tech enterprises and corporations like FPT and Viettel and major universities like Vietnam National University Hanoi, FPT University, and the Vietnam-Korea Institute of Science and Technology (VKIST) as well as the National Innovation Center.”

To develop a semiconductor industry, high-quality human resources are essential. Hanoi has many good technology universities, including Hanoi University of Science and Technology, the University of Engineering and Technology, and FPT University, which offer specialized training in semiconductor technology with direct links to semiconductor businesses.

Professor Dr. Nguyen Dinh Duc, Chairman of the University Council of the University of Engineering and Technology at Vietnam National University Hanoi, said, “In recent years, Hanoi has promulgated investment solutions and cooperation projects with Vietnam National University and University of Science and Technology. Hanoi has strong resources in digital transformation and semiconductor industry development.”

2024 Hanoi Semiconductor Investment Festival (Photo: Hoai Nam/kinhtedothi.vn)

Hanoi has everything it needs to attract investment in semiconductors. In September 2023, the Hanoi Industrial and Export Processing Zones Authority granted an investment certificate to Inventec Corporation of Taiwan, China, for a project called "Inventec Vietnam Factory" in the Hanoi Southern Supporting Industrial Park (HANSSIP). The factory now manufactures smartphones, servers, computer peripherals, electronic circuit boards, converters, and smart devices for export.

German semiconductor solutions provider Infineon Technologies AG has unveiled plans to open a new center for chip development in Hanoi, which will be similar to Infineon's international R&D centers in Munich (Germany), Villach (Austria), Bangalore (India), and Singapore. And Hanoi has welcomed other large tech firms, like Nvidia, Apple, SpaceX, Qorvo, Mavel, and Intel to pursue semiconductor and AI investment projects.

Tran Dang Hoa, Chairman of both the FPT Information Systems Company and the FPT Semiconductor Company, said, “President Biden's visit to Vietnam opened up a huge opportunity for Vietnam to participate in the semiconductor industry supply chain worth more than 600 billion USD. And Hanoi will be a key component of Vietnam's semiconductor industry development strategy.”

The semiconductor industry is forecast to earn annual revenues of 1 trillion USD. For Hanoi, this could mean billions of dollars in exports and create a foundation for all of its industrialization and modernization. Hanoi’s 2024 Capital Law and capital planning both prioritize semiconductor and AI development and envision Hanoi as a future center of the semiconductor industry.