SINGAPORE — Việt Nam took another step toward deeper integration into the global semiconductor supply chain through its active participation in SEMICON Southeast Asia (SEA) 2025, held from Tuesday to Thursday in Singapore.

This year marked Việt Nam’s debut, with a national pavilion at the exhibition, aiming to promote the country’s image and foster investment and technology partnerships.

The event drew over 500 enterprises and leading tech groups, featuring more than 1,000 booths and attracted an estimated 20,000 visitors.

As part of the official agenda, Việt Nam’s National Innovation Centre (NIC), in coordination with the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore, Meta, and the Southeast Asia Semiconductor Industry Association, hosted the Việt Nam Investment Forum on Tuesday.

The forum served as a strategic platform to strengthen collaboration and attract investment in key sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), smart manufacturing and high technology. More than 150 delegates from top global tech firms, research institutions and universities attended, alongside representatives from the cities of Hà Nội, HCM City and Bắc Giang.

The forum focused on four core priorities: highlighting Việt Nam’s investment environment and high-tech ecosystem, presenting the government’s strategic policy incentives in key technology sectors, enhancing collaboration between domestic and international enterprises, research bodies and localities and building human capital for the semiconductor industry with an eye toward establishing a regional talent hub.

Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Trần Phước Anh said the theme 'Stronger together' of this year’s exhibition reflected Việt Nam’s co-operative approach to global partnerships and its vision for a prosperous tech-driven economy.

He affirmed the government’s commitment to innovation and technology as central pillars of economic transformation, and described the forum as a key opportunity to introduce Việt Nam’s investment landscape and policy priorities in emerging industries.

A thematic session titled 'Unlocking Việt Nam’s High-Tech Potential' featured insights from industry leaders such as Dassault Systèmes, Siemens, Marvell and Deep C, as well as representatives from local areas. The session explored strategies for strengthening investment linkages and fostering a resilient, future-ready tech ecosystem in Việt Nam.

NIC Director Vũ Quốc Huy said the centre is developing comprehensive engagement plans with global tech giants, particularly from the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore, to support innovation, attract investment, and establish R&D centres focused on strategic technologies.

NIC has also built a broad network of strategic partners to drive innovation domestically. Among them is a partnership with Meta, which in 2024 launched a joint initiative to develop ViGen, an open-source Vietnamese language dataset to support AI applications in the local context.

The Director of Public Policy for Southeast Asia at Meta, Rafael Frankel, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to Việt Nam, highlighting its ongoing collaboration with NIC. He also revealed that Meta is making a major AI investment in the country and has participated in the Việt Nam Innovation Challenge for three consecutive years.

Việt Nam’s presence at SEMICON SEA 2025 reflects its growing ambitions in the global semiconductor landscape. — VNS