Vietnam’s Semiconductor Industry Enters a New Strategic Phase
Two early milestones in 2026—the groundbreaking of Viettel’s first semiconductor fabrication plant and FPT’s announcement of an advanced testing and packaging facility—signal a decisive shift in Vietnam’s semiconductor industry.
Viettel, a military-owned telecommunications conglomerate and one of the largest Vietnam state-owned companies (SOEs), is leading the country’s first domestic semiconductor manufacturing effort. Assigned by the Ministry of Defense under a government resolution to enhance technological self-reliance and national security, the facility sits on a 27-hectare site in Hoa Lac High-Tech Park near Hanoi. It is designed to serve high-value industries such as aerospace, IoT, telecommunications, automotive, and medical equipment. The plant will pilot 32-nanometer chip production by 2027, optimize processes through 2030, and expand from a single small-scale facility in 2030 to three plants by 2050. The project aligns with Vietnam’s National Semiconductor Strategy, which aims for at least one domestic fab, 100 design companies, 10 assembly and testing facilities, a workforce of 50,000 chip design engineers, and US$25 billion in annual semiconductor revenue (with 10–15% domestic value-added) by 2030, while targeting US$100 billion in industry turnover by 2050.
FPT, Vietnam’s largest IT group, complements Viettel’s efforts with the nation’s first domestically owned advanced semiconductor testing and packaging plant (ATP) in Bac Ninh province, set to become operational in 2027. Phase 1 (2026–2027) will cover 1,600 sq.m with functional and reliability testing systems, while Phase 2 (2028–2030) will expand to 6,000 sq.m, adding advanced packaging and functional testing lines to reach billions of products per year. The facility will focus on high-end chips for IoT, automotive, and edge AI applications. FPT has also signed agreements with domestic and international technology partners, including Viettel and VSAP LAB, to strengthen technological mastery and contribute to the “Make in Vietnam” semiconductor ecosystem.
These developments fill a critical gap in Vietnam’s semiconductor value chain. While Vietnam has emerged as a regional hub for chip testing and packaging, attracting global players such as Intel, Amkor, NVIDIA, Samsung, Qualcomm, Marvell and ASML, domestic wafer fabrication—the front-end of semiconductor manufacturing—has been absent until now. By establishing both fabrication and advanced testing facilities, Vietnam can now engage across all six stages of the semiconductor value chain. Beyond production, these plants provide real-world environments to train and retain domestic engineers, reducing brain drain and building a core workforce for a strategic industry.
Viettel’s role as the first Vietnamese company to build and operate a semiconductor fabrication plant also aligns closely with the country’s strategic push to elevate the state economic sector. Under the Party Politburo’s January 2026 Resolution 79, supported by Government Resolution 29, which sets out the action plan to implement the Politburo’s directive, Vietnam aims to develop large, technologically advanced SOEs with regional and global competitiveness, including 50 firms in Southeast Asia’s top 500 and 1–3 in the global top 500 by 2030.
