Since the fourth quarter of 2023, Da Nang has drastically and synchronously implemented many important steps with the main orientation on developing human resources in semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI).

On October 10, 2023, the city hosted a workshop to seek solutions to develop human resources to serve the semiconductor industry.

Immediately after that, in November 2023, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Quang led a group of local officials to visit the leading US semiconductor corporations such as Synopsys, Nvidia, Marvell and Intel.

Within the framework of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2023 in the U.S., Da Nang and Synopsys signed a Memorandum of Understanding on boosting cooperation in the semiconductor industry.

The city organised the ‘Meet Da Nang 2024’ forum in early 2024, aimed at appealing for new waves of investment in its priority fields in general and the semiconductor industry in particular. As part of the series of activities of the event, the Da Nang Semiconductor and Artificial Intelligence Centre for Research and Training (DSAC) under the municipal Department of Information and Communications made its debut and officially came into operation on January 26,2024.

DSAC is tasked with training and fostering in the semiconductor and AI industries; supporting investment attraction in the semiconductor and AI industries; and enhancing linkages and cooperation with domestic and foreign partners to promote research and incubation activities for start-ups involving the fields.

In late February 2024, a group of officials, led by Permanent Vice Chairman of the Da Nang People's Committee Ho Ky Minh, had a business trip to the U.S. and worked with Qualcomm Group, ARM Semiconductor Company and Ampere. As part of the trip, DSAC partnered with the Oregon state government and the University of Portland to organise seminar to appeal for investment in the city’s semiconductor and AI industries.

After the business trips made by the city leaders, many tech corporations have positively evaluated the potential and investment opportunities in semiconductor and AI in the central coastal city. Additionally, they have started to conduct surveys of the city’s investment environment, and prepare necessary conditions for cooperation in training, infrastructure development, and human resources.

In the early days of 2024, Qualcomm and Marvell, two large US corporations specialising in semiconductor, paid field visits to Da Nang and met with local leaders. Both corporations learned about the promising opportunities for cooperation, investment, and training activities in the semiconductor field in the city.

In particular, in late April 2024, a group of representatives of the US Nvidia Corporation based in Da Nang, led by its Vice President Keith Strier, visited the city during his second official visit to Viet Nam within just 4 months. The Nvidia delegation learned about the city’s investment conditions and environment.

Aside from delegations of the world's leading corporations such as Qualcomm, Marvell, and Nvidia, Da Nang has welcomed and worked with 22 large corporations and companies specialising in microchips, semiconductors, and AI in the first 5 months of 2024.

In mid-May 2024, the US-based Marvell Technology Inc. opened an office in the central city, the third of its kind in Viet Nam along with two others in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City. This latest move from Marvell aims to expand its operating network and develop a world-class IC design centre in Viet Nam.

This is a specific result after the visit to the city made by Marvell leaders in January 2024 to learn about the local investment environment. Immediately after that, on May 30, the Synopsys Vietnam Co., Ltd. opened a new office in Da Nang covering an area of 2,800m2 and offering 280 workplaces. The opening of the new office combined with the previous one contributes to increasing the company’s workspaces to more than 400.
 

In the overall set of policies and solutions proposed to promote the development of semiconductor industry, Da Nang focuses on three groups of solutions: infrastructure, human resources, and preferential policies and investment incentives.

Regarding infrastructure, the city has prepared land funds, concentrated information technology (IT) parks, software parks, and hi-tech parks for businesses to deploy semiconductor and AI-related projects. International fiber optic network, along with electricity, transportation and logistics infrastructure, have fully met the requirements of investors. Da Nang has a hi-tech park and three concentrated IT parks that have been recognised by the Prime Minister.

The Software Park No. 2 with a floor area of more than 90,000m2, accommodating more than 6,000 employees, will be put into use in late 2024. At the same time, the city is preparing suitable land funds as well as investing in 3 new IT parks.

As for human resources, the city has already opened its first short-term training course for source lecturers in IC design. Also, three city-based universities have opened three IC design training classes. Three universities have announced admission for 170 IC design engineers starting from August 2024. To date, the whole city has had 41 engineers and 59 lecturers studying IC design classes.

Besides, an alliance of five large universities and DSAC has been already established. It has signed a cooperation agreement with the Ha Noi-based Phenikaa University and the Synopsys Vietnam Company Limited on forming the Viet Nam Alliance of Semiconductor Research and Human Resources Training.

Da Nang sets a target of training at least 5,000 engineers in the IC and semiconductor fields by 2030. The determination of the goal is based on the needs of businesses that plan to invest in the city.

With regard to policies, according to the draft resolution of the National Assembly on urban administration organisation and the piloting of a number of special mechanisms and policies for the development of Da Nang, the fields of semiconductor and AI are included in the group of newly proposed policies according to the city's reality.
 

According to Assoc. Prof., Dr. Nguyen Gia Nhu, Principal of the School of Computer Science under the Duy Tan University, the piloting of a number of special mechanisms and policies for the development of Da Nang will greatly contribute to encouraging investments in the development of hi-tech, and creating more favourable conditions for domestic and foreign investors.

Reducing barriers to taxes, customs, administrative procedures, and land rental fees will attract the world's leading science and technology, semiconductor and AI enterprises to Da Nang.

Special policies will promote the development of hi-tech, and research and development (R&D) centres, as well as provide technical infrastructure and a favourable business environment for tech firms.

With tax incentives and support from the municipal government, hi-tech enterprises in Da Nang will have more resources to invest in R&D activities and enhance its competitiveness in the international market.

Furthermore, a favourable environment will serve innovation activities, thereby developing new products and services in semiconductor and AI fields in a bid to satisfy the growing needs of the market.

"The development of the hi-tech industry will make significant contribution to Da Nang's economic growth, creating many jobs and increasing people's income. These impacts will help Da Nang raise its position on the global map of technology and ensure its sustainable development", Assoc. Prof., Dr. Nguyen Gia Nhu commented.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Huy Dung highly appreciated Da Nang as the first locality in the country to pioneer developing the semiconductor industry. He expressed his belief that the establishment of DSAC is the right direction in developing this industry.

The Ministry plans to build and develop a network of national semiconductor research, design and manufacturing centres by 2030, including three in Ha Noi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City in accordance with its strengths and characteristics of each region that is expected to be put into operation in 2025, and one to be opened no later than 2027.

“Da Nang has made strong determination and specific actions in the field of semiconductor industry. The city needs to continue to coordinate with the Ministry of Information and Communications to soon deploy the aforementioned national strategic contents to achieve expected results by 2025 and put them into operation step by step. The Ministry of Information and Communications will accompany the city during the development of the semiconductor industry and the digital economy in particular, and the local socio-economy in general", Deputy Minister Nguyen Huy Dung emphasised.

Affirming the city's determination to develop the semiconductor at an international conference on Vietnamese semiconductor human resources in the global supply chain, co-organised by the Phenikaa Group, the Synopsys Group, and the University of Arizona in Ha Noi on May 4, 2024, Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Le Trung Chinh said that Da Nang identified hi-tech, including the semiconductor and AI industries as a crucial part in 5 breakthrough industry groups, creating momentum for the city’s rapid and sustainable development.

Although these are new and complex fields, Da Nang has a strong determination to ensure sustainable development. It is clearly aware of attracting investment and developing semiconductor and AI as priority fields for research, investment, and development in a methodical, long-term manner.

It can be seen that the presence and expansion of semiconductor companies in just a short time is proof of the city's great efforts in developing this field. Currently, the city is building a project "Development of semiconductor chips and microchips in Da Nang". This is an important basis for the city to roll out solutions and build support policies, contributing to bringing Da Nang into the value chain and making it become an inviting destination in the fields of microchips, semiconductor and global future technology.

Reporting by THAO NHI, MAI QUE, HOANG HIEP, THU HA

Designing by THANH HUYEN

Translating by MAI DUNG