President Joe Biden will visit Vietnam to strengthen ties, and top American semiconductor and digital giants like Intel, GlobalFoundries, and Google are anticipated to attend a commercial summit in Hanoi on Monday.
The still-to-be-scheduled meeting would confirm U.S. objectives to increase Vietnam’s worldwide leadership in various chipmaking sectors, as part of Washington’s larger goal to lessen the sector’s exposure to dangers associated with China, including trade restrictions and disputes over Taiwan.
According to a partial list that a person familiar with the planning discussed with Reuters, senior executives from Google (GOOGL.O), Intel (INTC.O), Amkor (AMKR.O), Marvell (MRVL.O), GlobalFoundries (GFS.O), and Boeing (BA.N) are scheduled to attend.
Requests for comments made outside of business hours were not promptly answered by the companies.
The involvement of numerous significant American chip companies, including Amkor, their Vietnamese partners, and the tech giant FPT (FPT.HM), as well as important Vietnamese and American officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, was verified by a second individual with knowledge of the arrangements.
According to U.S. administration officials, Joe Biden‘s visit to Hanoi on Sunday and Monday is likely to centre on semiconductors as the White House attempts to formally improve relations with the erstwhile adversary.
One of the sources stated that roughly 30 top executives and officials will attend the meeting, but the roundtable has not been announced and it is unknown if any of the companies will make any announcements.
Some of the people on the list have already made investments in Vietnam or have said they will.
The largest chip assembly, packaging, and testing facility in Intel’s global network is a $1.5 billion facility in southern Vietnam, and there are plans to expand it.
During a July visit to Hanoi, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that Amkor is constructing “a state-of-the-art mega factory for semiconductor assembly and testing” close to the capital city. The company’s Vietnam website lists dozens of available vacancies.
Marvell, a chip design company, has announced ambitions to develop a “world-class” facility in Vietnam.
U.S. authorities have stated time and time again that Vietnam was likely to grow quicker in the chip-making industry’s assembly and design sectors, while a lack of engineers might hinder the sector’s growth.
Vietnam also wants to construct its own chip manufacturing facilities or fabs. Making integrated circuits on wafers for use in automobiles, smartphones, and other applications is a specialty of GlobalFoundries.
Electronics and smartphones are two key exports from Vietnam.
According to a senior executive at a significant U.S. chip company, the Vietnamese government has met with the majority of the country’s leading chip makers, including Intel, Samsung (005930. KS), and Qualcomm (QCOM.O), to seek guidance on the establishment of the nation’s first fab
Officials from the United States have also stated that improving formal ties with Vietnam could facilitate cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI), a field in which Google is a significant international participant.
The largest conglomerate in Vietnam, Vingroup (VIC.HM), which is the parent company of the Nasdaq-listed electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast, has an AI-focused division.
According to persons familiar with the situation who spoke to Reuters, Boeing may announce a deal including the sale of 50 of its 737 MAX aircraft. Boeing opted not to respond.
