Standing shoulder to shoulder with the world's powers with intelligence and brainpower "25 years ago, when FPT decided to Go Global (reach out to the world), many people said that we were delusional, how could Vietnamese people do it, where would people come from to do it. At that time, from India, we brought the first international programmer training program to Vietnam. Up to now, FPT has created many products that are used by tens of millions of people around the world. In 2015, when we said we were determined to export 1 billion USD of software, countless people said we were boasting, delusional, many people laughed and scorned us. Then on December 31, 2023, FPT officially announced that it had exported 1 billion USD of software. Just 1 year ago, we encountered a similar story with chips and semiconductors. People could laugh, say we don't know anything, probably just work for hire. But believe me, unlike us who took 25 years to reach the Top 1 billion USD company, today's young people only need to wait 5 years. In 2030, when talking about chips and semiconductors, people will mention Vietnam as a place to go. This is the country's aspiration", Mr. Hoang Nam Tien, who has been with FPT for 31 years, and has been in the "hot seat" of FPT Software for 8 years, shared an inspirational story at a seminar on chips and semiconductors co-organized by the National Innovation Center (NIC) in Hanoi.

Mr. Hoang Nam Tien shares an inspirational story for young people (Photo: Binh Minh).

“In the chip and semiconductor industry, we are extremely proud that at the recent FPT Shareholders' Meeting, FPT Chairman Truong Gia Binh boasted that he had sold 70 million chips to customers in Japan and Korea, and received strong commitments from customers from these two countries to cooperate with FPT. These are small premises of today for us to have a bigger future,” Mr. Tien provided information that surprised many people. Commenting that the chip and semiconductor industry will be the future, one of the important driving forces for Vietnam's development in at least the next 25 years, Mr. Tien emphasized the special advantages of Vietnamese people: Persistence, patience, and the ability to learn new things very quickly. FPT's practical story was cited as evidence: International customers brought up many new things, even at FPT no one had done those technologies and requirements. But in less than 9 months, young engineers and programmers at FPT had learned them. “Last week, I went to Lang Son and was very surprised to see that in a remote mountainous province, the robot competition had 27 teams from Lang Son city and 10 poor districts. I was even more surprised to know that all secondary and high schools in Lang Son have teachers teaching about robots; the STEM program (Science - Technology - Engineering - Mathematics) has been introduced to almost all schools in this locality. Looking more broadly at the national level, STEM is introduced to schools from grades 1 to 12, and robot programming competitions are becoming more and more popular. This is a very important foundation for Vietnam to develop the chip and semiconductor industry,” Mr. Tien continued another interesting story. “In the fall of 1946, in a letter to children across the country, Uncle Ho wished that “the young generation will stand shoulder to shoulder with the world powers.” Personally, I know that there are tens of thousands of young Vietnamese people working in Korea, Japan, the Middle East, etc. They are healthy and skilled men and women who have been supporting themselves and their families, bringing valuable foreign currency back to the country. But I hope for more: Young Vietnamese people will go global, standing shoulder to shoulder with the world's great powers with their intelligence, brainpower and youth. We believe that with the ability and qualifications of the Vietnamese people, we will conquer the world," the FPT leader expressed. Opportunities and challenges when participating in the global "race" "Since 1979, Vietnam has had its first semiconductor chip factory - Z181, which exported semiconductor equipment to Europe, but had to stop operating shortly after. 10 years ago, Vietnam also wanted to develop the chip industry but also failed. Now Vietnam has a new opportunity due to the need to diversify the semiconductor chip supply chain in the world as well as some issues related to trade competition", Mr. Vo Xuan Hoai, Vice President of the National Innovation Center (NIC), emphasized. According to Mr. Hoai, Vietnam was chosen because it has: Stable geopolitics; The determination of the Vietnamese Government and leaders is very high; Comprehensive strategic partnerships with many countries with developed semiconductor chip industries, especially the United States, Japan, South Korea..., and recently, Taiwan (China) - where the semiconductor chip industry is the world's leading development - is also interested in Vietnam when it has the need to shift and diversify the supply chain...

Vietnam can seize the opportunity to turn the semiconductor industry into a spearhead industry (Photo: Binh Minh).

“Vietnam has a great opportunity, especially after US President Joe Biden visited and worked in September 2023, upgrading the relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam. Through this relationship, we have an ecosystem of many economies such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan (China) ... joining the United States to coordinate with Vietnam to develop the semiconductor industry. Vietnam can seize the opportunity, turn the semiconductor industry into a spearhead industry, a core industry, and escape the middle-income trap,” Mr. Hoai analyzed. Referring to Vietnam's opportunity to participate in the global semiconductor supply chain, Mr. Le Hai Anh, Director of Dolphin Technology Vietnam Center, highly appreciated an advantage of Vietnam: A large number of Vietnamese engineers working in the US, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan (China) ..., helping large global corporations see the quality of Vietnamese human resources is very good, and begin to be interested in opening offices in Vietnam. Currently, there are about 40 companies in the semiconductor industry in Vietnam, most of which are FDI enterprises. Most of the enterprises carry out work transferred from their headquarters abroad, starting with the simplest tasks, and after proving their capabilities, they are assigned to do more difficult and complex tasks. "Among the 40 companies, there are pure Vietnamese startups. Although they are small, with only about 10-20 engineers, they are expanding their staff to 30-40 people, facing many difficulties and challenges, but they are proving to the world that Vietnamese chip companies are starting to do it," Mr. Hai Anh said optimistically. According to statistics from World Semiconductor Trade Statistics, in 2022, global semiconductor chip revenue is estimated at about 556 USD. It is forecasted that by 2029, the total value of the global semiconductor market could reach 1,400 billion USD. With great development potential, the semiconductor industry is a very attractive “piece of cake” for the world’s powers. Vietnam is considered one of the countries with the fastest growing semiconductor ecosystem in the world. But in reality, Vietnam’s contribution to the global semiconductor chain is still modest.

Mr. Vo Xuan Hoai, Vice President of the National Innovation Center: "Besides opportunities, there are many challenges" (Photo: Binh Minh)

Discussing this issue, Vice President of NIC Vo Xuan Hoai frankly acknowledged: Besides opportunities, there are also many challenges. The semiconductor chip industry needs breakthrough investment. In India, to attract a chip manufacturing corporation, the Government must match 50% of the total investment capital. The huge investment of the State is a challenge. Can Vietnam do it? On the other hand, the global market requires outstanding, unique mechanisms and policies, with many unprecedented regulations. Vietnam needs to perfect its institutions to attract the development of the semiconductor chip industry. The most important and difficult challenge is high-quality human resources, ready to work for multinational corporations. This human resource is also an important factor for Vietnamese enterprises to attract more foreign investors. Training 50,000 engineers, aiming to export semiconductor human resources The demand for human resources for the semiconductor industry is very large. The US Semiconductor Industry Association estimates that by 2030, the world will need about 1 million more semiconductor engineers. “Vietnam’s biggest strength is its young population, with a penchant for studying technology and engineering-related subjects. That is a factor that many other countries, such as the US, really want but do not have. The growing human resource will meet the extremely large demand for human resources. We believe that in the next 10 years, Vietnam will become a leading country in the semiconductor industry,” said Harsh Bharwani, CEO of Jetking Global Group.

Vietnam can absolutely become an important link in the global chip supply chain (Photo: Binh Minh)

Vice President Vo Xuan Hoai said: “Recently, many businesses from developed countries and economies have come to work with NIC on semiconductor chips, hoping that Vietnam can provide them with human resources. This is a great opportunity for Vietnam to export semiconductor human resources.” According to Mr. Hoai, Vietnam or any country in the world, if it wants to participate in the supply chain of the semiconductor industry, must have long-term preparation, 10-20 years, even 30 years. The draft Project on Human Resources Development for the Semiconductor Industry to 2030, with a vision to 2045, developed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and submitted to the Government, sets a target of training 50,000 engineers to work in the semiconductor industry by 2030. Solutions to promote the training of high-quality human resources that are both good and fast are continuing to be sought. “Coordinating with domestic and foreign corporations to organize training and develop human resources for the semiconductor industry is extremely important. This cooperation is essential, because to participate in the global value chain, international standards must be ensured. It is impossible to have a single training method,” Mr. Hoai acknowledged. A “difficult problem” for businesses and training facilities is the semiconductor laboratory. Experience in Taiwan (China), investing in a chip and semiconductor laboratory requires about 100 million USD. Investing in a separate laboratory is impossible for most businesses and training facilities in Vietnam. Understanding the “feelings” of businesses and training facilities, the Draft Project on Human Resources Development for the Semiconductor Industry proposes to establish 4 national shared semiconductor centers (2 in Hanoi, 1 in Da Nang, 1 in Ho Chi Minh City); 18-20 standard training centers located at universities funded by the state budget. In addition, the US will sponsor the investment in 2 more laboratories specializing in measurement and testing located at NIC Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City National University. If we seize the opportunity and resolve the challenges early, Vietnam can completely become an important link in the global chip supply chain, establishing a position on the world chip and semiconductor map.
“The first step is extremely difficult. But if you don’t go, how will you know if you can get there? If you don’t go, how will you know if you can do it? If you want to do great things, young people should use social networks less, spend less time waiting for comments on them, and focus on your work. Study chips and semiconductors so that you can shine for yourself, contributing to the shine of the whole country. I believe that in the near future, I will meet many young Vietnamese people in Silicon Valley or on the streets of Tokyo, Singapore… They will say: Hello teacher. I studied chips and semiconductors at FPT”, Vice Chairman of the Board of FPT University Hoang Nam Tien confided to the young people.