The summit is organised by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International in collaboration with Sai Gon Hi-tech Park and HCM City Semiconductor Industry Association.— Photo dissertationreviews.org

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) — The 2nd Viet Nam Semiconductor Strategy Summit which opens today brings together executives of the world's leading microelectronics companies, with delegates representing Vietnamese government, academia, research and industry.

They will discuss the key strategies, challenges and opportunities facing the Viet Nam semiconductor industry.

The event, which brings together key decision-makers shaping the future of the industry in Viet Nam, will help forge connections and relationships that will drive growth over the next decade and beyond.

Viet Nam remains committed to entering the global microelectronics world, moving beyond the back-end, organisers have said.

While the first Summit provided a platform to discuss the need for a local supply chain, workforce development, R&D collaboration and intellectual property protection, many challenges still remain as the fab project nears the approval stage.

From water supply infrastructure to device design, this year's SEMI Viet Nam Semiconductor Strategy Summit will feature discussions vital to the future of the industry.

At a press conference held yesterday, Kai Fai Ng, of SEMI Southeast Asia, said the Vietnamese government was introducing new initiatives to develop the semiconductor industry as a national strategic priority, and was poised to make significant strategic investment in developing a domestic semiconductor supply chain.

Organising the event in HCM City is a clear indication that Viet Nam plays an increasingly important role in the global semiconductor industry.

The summit is organised by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International in collaboration with Sai Gon Hi-tech Park and HCM City Semiconductor Industry Association.

Le Hoai Quoc, president of SHTP, said microelectronics was one of several priority development fields of SHTP and HCM City.

To call for investment in the field, SHTP has offered many programmes to support businesses, to be supported with preferential-interest loans not exceeding VND100 billion (US$4.76 million) for each project.

Quoc said SHTP would ask HCM City to increase the loan value in the future, explaining that at least $200 million would be needed to open a microchip factory.

In 2012, the HCM City People's Committee approved a programme to develop the microelectronic industry in the 2012-2020 period under Decision No 6358/QD-UBND.

The ambitious programme includes training for microelectronic design, business incubation strategies, founding of a design house and construction of microelectronic manufacturing factories.

SHTP contributes an important role in the city's microelectronic development strategy. It has been assigned the important duty of incubating businesses, which will help further growth of the industry.

The first microelectronic factory invested in by the Sai Gon Industrial Corporation will be built at SHTP. — VNS