[Manufacturing] - Vietnam and the potential to play a significant role in the global supply chain for semiconductor electronics

Vietnam is the eighth-largest exporter of electronics worldwide

Vietnam's economy is increasingly relying on the production of electronics and semiconductors. Vietnam is the second country in ASEAN (behind Singapore) and the eighth-largest exporter of electronics worldwide. Leading international companies such as Samsung, Intel, Panasonic, LG, and Canon have invested in electronics in Vietnam.

Vietnam has more opportunities to receive investment capital flows in the semiconductor industry when the global market "fevers" due to semiconductors and in the context of global investment flows shifting since the US-China trade war, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Actively investing in Vietnam's semiconductor electronics manufacturing sector with several billion-dollar projects

Numerous sizable projects serve as examples of the domestic electronics industry's potential. For instance, the decision to add $1 billion to the investment capital for the LG Innotek Company project between 2023 and 2025, brought the project's total investment capital to $2 billion. A total of 3,500 people are employed at the LG Innotek Hai Phong factory, which has a capacity of 390 million camera modules that are 100% exported. As a result of this modification, LG Innotek invested more than $1 billion to construct factory V3, which will produce camera modules for export and add 2,600 new jobs for workers.

In terms of the semiconductor industry, Samsung has made significant investments in Vietnam. Especially, Samsung’s investments have opened 6 manufacturing facilities, 1 sales office, and 1 R&D facility in Vietnam. Besides, Samsung has increased its overall investment in Vietnam from 607 million USD in 2008 to more than 20 billion USD currently. Particularly, the plan for mass production of grid chip semiconductor products of Samsung Electro-Mechanics Vietnam Factory in Thai Nguyen, with an investment of over $2.6 billion, is likely activated by the end of 2023 after the trial production is finished.

At the same time, the Amkor project, which is a $1.6 billion investment in the semiconductor industry, is anticipated to start operations in Bac Ninh. In 2021, Intel announced an additional investment of about $475 million in Intel Products Vietnam (IPV) and making IPV become the biggest assembly and testing factory in Intel’s network. Moreover, IPV is anticipated to continue to develop and adopt more advanced technologies and new products such as 5G products and core processors for Intel to take advantage of new market opportunities.

Many investors in this sector have recently been seen looking to Vietnam, in addition to the top electronics companies in the world including Samsung, Intel, and TSMC. Amkor is also a good illustration. Furthermore, Hana Micron, Renesas, Applied Micro, Synopsys, NXP Semiconductors, Hanmi Semiconductor, etc are additional companies.

Vietnam has the potential to play a significant role in the global supply chain for semiconductor electronics

Due to the "big guys" investing in the production of semiconductor electronic components in Vietnam, several domestic and international "satellite" vendor companies have emerged to capitalize on this investment trend. These are viewed as chances for these businesses to advance their production and bottom line.

The multibillion-dollar investment projects in Vietnam's semiconductor electronics sector are proof of the methodical and coordinated investment. Vietnam has been able to produce high-quality semiconductor electronic components as a result of this investment. These components are crucial parts of the most popular finished products in the world, including phones, screens, speakers, cameras, headphones, and other items. This highlights the significance of these components' quality control in part. At the same time, it is essential to increase production capacity and invest in "satellite" supplier equipment.

A sample of a chip from Samsung Electronics. Image: samsungnews

The production of semiconductor electronic components requires careful handling of the specifications because even the smallest mistake can result in product failure. Therefore, it is crucial to use specialized and high-quality testing equipment to guarantee that all electronic components are accurately and thoroughly tested, assisting in identifying and eliminating manufacturing flaws, failures, or errors, and ensuring that the finished product complies with stringent standards and requirements.

A wide range variety of specialized tools and equipment are used in semiconductor electronics manufacturing test equipment to measure and examine variables including resistance, capacitance, amperage, uniformity, and standard compliance. Examples of common test equipment types are multi-function testers, IC testers, PCB testers, error testers, drop testing devices, and other devices that simulate temperature, humidity, vibration, etc.

Vibration testing equipment. Resource: https://comitcorp.com/

According to statistics, investments in testing equipment for semiconductor electronics production in factories and businesses have risen significantly in recent years. Based on Reuters’s resources, Intel is reportedly considering significantly increasing its $1.5 billion investment project in Vietnam to expand its inspection factory and chip packaging. Amkor Technology Company (Korea) recently signed an agreement to build a factory in the Bac Ninh region for producing, assembling, and testing semiconductor materials with a total investment of $1.6 billion by 2035. Due to the source, the project's initial phase is anticipated to cost about $520 million and will be dedicated to offering assembly and advanced system testing in package (SiP) for electricity and semiconductor manufacturing companies all over the world.

To keep up with the waves of investment and support businesses producing electronic and semiconductor components in supplying products that ensure strict quality standards to the market, COMIT promotes collaboration with the world's top prestigious manufacturers from the US, EU, China, etc. Along with a team of professional engineers capable of transferring the most cutting-edge technologies in the field of quality control to Vietnam. We are the industry pioneer in offering solutions to help electronic manufacturing factories measure and manage quality from R&D process to mass production process.

COMIT is confident in our ability to contribute to the value chain of electronics factories and help cut down as much money and time as possible during the production phase before the finished product reaches our customers.

Source: https://meslab.org/threads/viet-nam-va-co-hoi-tro-thanh-mat-xich-quan-trong-trong-chuoi-cung-ung-thiet-bi-dien-tu-ban-dan-toan-cau.64648/