South Korea's Hana Micron to invest US$1bn in Viet Nam chip production

The South Korean manufacturer of chip packaging and memory products told Nikkei Asia it is moving equipment to its new, second factory in Bac Giang province.

The province hosts three Apple suppliers and, with neighboring Bac Ninh, is known for making the bulk of Samsung phones globally.

The chip industry was a focus of U.S. President Joe Biden's trip to Viet Nam in September, when his office said U.S. companies Amkor and Marvell will expand in the country. Days later Viet Nam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh toured the U.S. facilities of Nvidia and Synopsys seeking further investment.

"Hana Micron's Bac Giang project plays a key role in the socioeconomic development of the region and ... follows the development direction of the government," human resource manager Hwang Chul Min told Nikkei. "It will create opportunities to attract more high-tech projects and lay the foundation for the development of the semiconductor production ecosystem."

In a recent interview with VGP, Country Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Viet Nam Shantanu Chakraborty said, foreign direct investment (FDI) has been very popular in Viet Nam, absolutely in the last couple of years. Viet Nam has emerged as a powerhouse for attracting FDI in the region.

As of September 20, Viet Nam attracted nearly US$20.21 billion in foreign direct investment, representing a year-on-year increase of 7.7 percent, the Foreign Investment Agency reported.

Meanwhile, FDI disbursement picked up 2.2 percent on year to a five-year record high of US$15.9 billion, said the agency./.