VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City authorities once vowed to make the semiconductor industry a key part of the economy, but no significant action has been taken recently.


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HCM City vows to develop IC industry



The HCM City Semiconductor Technology Association, established in March 2013, included many experts with good ideas. The optimism about the action plan was empowered by municipal leaders who applied necessary policies.

Initial achievements

Five years ago, HCM City became the first locality which launched an IC development program for the 2013-2020 period with the total investment capital of VND7.506 trillion.

It was expected that by 2017, HCM City’s IC industry would have to obtain revenue of $100-150 million, invite at least five multinationals in electronic industry to invest in Vietnam, train 2,000 engineers and technicians and incubate over 30 domestic technology firms.

After the establishment of the association, many activities associated with the 2013-2020 HCM City IC Industry Development Program were organized, raising high hopes among the IC community.

Cooperation agreements were signed by important agencies and the Ministry of National Defence, the HCM City Information and Communication Department and ICDREC (Integrated Circuit Design Research & Education Center). They dealt with labor training, research and development of IC products.

In 2012-2017, the HCM City authorities allocated a budget of VND68 billion to fund 18 research and trial production projects.

Following SG-8V1, other chip products such as Sigma K3 chip, VN 16-32 chip, HF-RFID chip and biological chips were tried on many smart products, including watches, container locks, car black boxes and motorcycles.

SG-8V1, the first 8 bit RISC commercial microchip developed in Vietnam, was competitive in both price and functions with imports.

Soon after that, many products using SG-8V were launched, including the single phase electronic meter SEM1-MD; DCM data collection modem; and three phase electronic meter SEM3-MC.

Following SG-8V1, other chip products such as Sigma K3 chip, VN 16-32 chip, HF-RFID chip and biological chips were tried on many smart products, including watches, container locks, car black boxes and motorcycles.

However, there has been no considerable activity in the last two years. The latest event related to the field was organized in November 2017, when the IC industry program was mentioned at the MEMS/Sensor HCMC.

The forum was initiated by the HCM City Hi-tech Park; the HCM City Semiconductor Association was not mentioned. 

The inactivity of the association raised concerns that the IC industry may fall into oblivion. 

Three months before the event, HCM City approved a new program on developing the IC industry in 2017-2020 with eight registered projects.

Under the program, the IC industry is expected to have a high growth rate, helping stimulate industrialization and the development of smart cities.


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