Da Nang focusing heavily on developing semiconductors

Politburo Resolution No. 43-NQ/TW, issued on January 24, 2019, on the construction and development of Da Nang by 2030 with a vision to 2045, identifies five sectors that will have priority in development resources. One field relates to digital transformation, which is information technology, electronics, and communications in connection with the digital economy. Da Nang has now decided to build an ecosystem for the electronics and semiconductor industry. When did the foundation for the development of this new economic sector first begin?

The Da Nang City People’s Committee issued a plan on information technology (IT) development to 2030 last August, which gives priority to the development of semiconductor design and production.

Da Nang targets having its digital economy account for 30 per cent of its GRDP by 2030, with a minimum of 8,950 digital enterprises established and 115,000 digital human resources available.

The city will strive to develop at least seven information technology zones and software parks.

At present, there are 2,450 digital enterprises in the city with 46,000 employees, for an average of 2.3 digital enterprises per 1,000 people; nearly triple the national average.

It will focus on the design and testing stages in the semiconductor chip production process. Priority will be given to developing human resources for these stages.

It has been focused on developing human resources for the semiconductor industry to support and create a semiconductor business ecosystem in the city, forming incubation centers for startups in the industry, developing a venture capital fund for the industry, and providing preferential policies for startups in the field.

What are the strengths and appeal of Da Nang among investors in developing the electronics and semiconductor industry?

The Politburo issued Resolution No. 43 on January 24, 2019, on the construction and development of Da Nang city by 2030 with a vision to 2045, which identifies five sectors to be given priority in development resources. One field relates to digital transformation: IT, electronics, and communications in connection with the digital economy.

The resolution from the city Party Committee’s 12th Congress identified three key tasks, including renewing the growth model and restructuring the economy with a focus on strongly developing the high technology industry and IT, in connection with building a startup urban area and a smart city, creating a foundation to boost the development of emerging fields, particularly the digital economy, the digital society, and digital administration.

There are some 250 enterprises operating in the city in the field of manufacturing, processing, and assembling electronic products, with nearly 10,500 employees. Many are operating in chip design in Da Nang, such as Synopsys, Uniquify, Savarti, Renesas, Synapse, FPTsemi, and Sannei Hytechs.

The city has coordinated with universities and colleges to train human resources in the field of IT and semiconductors.

The city’s human resources are diligent and possess good scientific knowledge, which are favorable for businesses operating in the semiconductor field, particularly in the design and testing stages.

With its strengths and foundation, will Da Nang focus on each stage of designing, or packaging or testing, or on all three stages?

Da Nang plans to take part in the global semiconductor production chain based on its human resources. The city will give priority to developing human resources for the design and testing stages.

In order to attract global corporations in the fields of electronics and semiconductors, does the city have any mechanisms to build and operate digital infrastructure to support the construction of chip design centers and chip and semiconductor innovation centers?

The city focuses on the following policies:

Firstly, it will build mechanisms and policies to encourage human resources training for the research and development of the semiconductor chip and AI industries following orientations from the government.

Secondly, it will study policies to provide preferential loans to trainees and salary incentives to workers in this field, while attracting experts and overseas Vietnamese to come and work or transfer knowledge.

Thirdly, it will propose to the government that it builds special mechanisms and policies, such as incentives in taxes and land, and financial support to promote investment in developing the semiconductor industry and AI. It will also encourage startups to join the design stage as well as encourage coordination between major businesses with foreign partners in manufacturing, producing, testing, and packing semiconductor chip products.