Vietnamese telecoms player Viettel said it has held “high-level bilateral working sessions” with Japanese companies Nikon Corporation and Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL) as part of its preparation to help build Vietnam’s first domestic semiconductor manufacturing plant.
According to a LinkedIn post on Sunday, Viettel said the talks focused on "clarifying the company’s semiconductor technology development orientation and exploring cooperation opportunities in semiconductor fabrication."
Nikon specialises in optical technology and precision mechanics, while TEL possesses a comprehensive equipment portfolio covering the entire semiconductor value chain, from thin-film deposition technologies (CVD, ALD), plasma etching and wafer cleaning to surface treatment.
Viettel said the talks served to develop its semiconductor technology development strategy, as well as prepare for implementation of the Vietnamese government’s High-Tech Semiconductor Chip Manufacturing Plant Project announced earlier this year.
Viettel said the Nikon and TEL meetings reflect Japan’s critical role in the global semiconductor manufacturing supply chain, particularly in the supply of materials and equipment.
“Proactively engaging with these strategic partners is an essential step toward deeper integration into the global supply chain, contributing to the advancement of Viettel’s semiconductor technology and the sustainable development of Vietnam’s semiconductor ecosystem,” the post said.
The Vietnamese government has been pushing a national strategy to boost its semiconductor sector – which it regards as the core of its electronics industry – for the last couple of years. In 2024, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh urged the country’s four main state-owned telcos – Viettel, VNPT, MobiFone, and Gtel Mobile – to take the lead on semiconductor chip R&D and production as part of that strategy.
In March this year, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (under the Ministry of Information and Communications) reportedly announced that .Vietnam would invest about VNĐ12.8 trillion (US$501.2 million) to build a small-scale chip manufacturing plant for research, design, production, packaging and testing.
Earlier this month, Viettel and the science faculty of Vietnam National University in Hanoi began organising a training program for semiconductor manufacturing engineers to work at the plant.
Viettel has its own chipset ambitions to fulfil. Its R&D arm Viettel High Tech revealed its own 5G chipset in 2023, which it said gave it “complete control” over its domestic 5G equipment ecosystem.
