Ho Chi Minh City’s chip design potential highlighted at investment forum
The city drew more than US$19 billion in foreign direct investment in the first 10 months, around 74 per cent above its full-year target.
Ho Chi Minh City could use its manufacturing expertise and engineering capabilities to develop chip design and research activities, Travis Mitchell, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, told an investment forum on November 2.
Mitchell identified opportunities for cooperation with US businesses in energy, healthcare, semiconductors and high technology. Discussing moves towards Vietnam by Intel, Nvidia and Qualcomm, he said businesses increasingly saw the country as a potential centre for innovation and higher-value activities, rather than merely an inexpensive manufacturing base.
He pointed to the city’s highly skilled technical workers as a particular advantage. His remarks came as Ho Chi Minh City reported more than 22,000 valid foreign direct investment projects, representing registered capital above US$157.4 billion.
Nguyen Loc Ha, standing vice chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, said the city sought double-digit growth and aimed to become an Asian economic, financial and services hub by 2045. He named logistics, green energy, finance, high technology and strategic infrastructure as investment priorities.
Pham Quang Nhat, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre, said high technology, digital infrastructure and logistics were receiving the main investment flows. Projects could combine nationwide, city-specific and special-zone incentives, he said, depending on their sector, scale and location and within applicable regulations.
