Semi-conductor industry ‘crucial’

It is vital to set up integrated circuit wafer fabrication facilities in Viet Nam to satisfy the demand for semi-conductor and IC products, Dr Pham Ba Tuan of EM Microelectronic, a semi-conductor manufacturer based in Switzerland, said.

Speaking at a symposium in HCM City that attracted 200 local and foreign delegates, he quoted studies and the fact that electronics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like Sony, Samsung, and Canon had established strong manufacturing operations in Viet Nam with revenues expected to grow to US$11.4 billion in 2012.

A recent analysis by In-Stat of the Vietnamese Electronics Manufacturing and Semiconductor Trends showed that semi-conductor sales in Viet Nam would reach around $1.9 billion by 2012 with a steady annual growth rate of 23 per cent. “Besides, the country has many other favourable factors including a population of 85 million, an economy growing at 7 to 8 per cent, low wages, and a high number of fresh university graduates,” he said.

“All these conditions advocate an IC wafer-fab [industry] in Viet Nam. And, it is also a necessity to foster the semi-conductor manufacturing industry since it is the backbone of the electronics industry.”

It would save Viet Nam hard-earned money, he said.

It would also help train and produce skilled semi-conductor engineers, act as a motor to drive manufacturing excellence, and develop the young Vietnamese design industry, he said.

Once semi-conductor technology is mastered, other technologies like solar cell, LED, and LCD, which are important technologies for achieving a green environment, will become viable, according to Tuan.

A semi-conductor industry and related supply chains are crucial for Viet Nam if it wants to transform its industry from a labor-intensive to a more advanced, technology-driven one.

A 180 mm IC wafer-fab manufacturing facility would be a reasonable choice for Viet Nam, Tuan said.

It would cost $200 million to build and churn out nearly 600 million chips per year, achieving minimum revenues of around $100 million, he said.

Professor Dr Dang Luong Mo, an advisor to the Viet Nam National University-HCM City (VNU-HCM)’s integrated circuit programme, said the Research Laboratory for Design and Simulation of Micro-Circuits was established at the HCM City University of Technology in 1999.

In 2005 the Integrated Circuit Design Research and Education Center (ICDREC) was established at the VNU-HCM and two years later a graduate course on microelectronics was introduced at the HCM City University of Science, he said.

“The three facilities constitute a closed system for research and education in IC design,” he said, explaining the system is significant for setting up an IC industry.

Do Van Loc, head of the Ministry of Science and Technology’s High Technology Department, said Viet Nam is set to give priority to manufacturing high-technology products, including IC products.

The Government would offer foreign technology companies investment incentives and create favourable conditions for industry and academia to co-operate to develop the IC industry, he said.

More laboratories would also be set up, he added. —VNS

Tags: Semi-conductor industry