Kees van Baar, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Vietnam

At the Vietnam Semiconductor Industry Expo 2025, experts, and business leaders discussed how the country can capture new opportunities in the global semiconductor supply chain amid rising demand and worldwide restructuring.

Speaking at a session on unlocking opportunities for Vietnam's local supply chain on November 7, Kees van Baar, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Vietnam, said the Netherlands sees major potential for cooperation.

“About 90 per cent of the value of a chip-making machine made in the Netherlands is created not by the manufacturers themselves, but by their suppliers,” he noted. “These suppliers span multiple tiers and fields, from metal processing, mechanics, and optics to engineering services. Understanding this opens a whole new world of opportunities for Vietnam.”

The Netherlands is among the world's semiconductor leaders, with 85 per cent of integrated circuits in electronic devices globally made on machines designed and produced there. Ambassador van Baar said this strength is built on high-precision engineering, strong research and development (R&D) investment, and an open ecosystem of skilled suppliers, a model that Vietnam can adapt as it develops its own semiconductor ecosystem.

“The growing capabilities of Vietnamese businesses give them an advantage in becoming suppliers to global semiconductor companies,” he added, encouraging local firms to connect directly with international buyers at the expo's networking session.

Vietnam's push into semiconductors reflects a broader ambition to shift its growth model towards innovation, technology, and sustainability. “This forum comes at a pivotal time as Vietnam accelerates its efforts to shift its growth model, with science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation as key enablers,” said Vu Quoc Huy, director of the National Innovation Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Finance.

“These are not only priorities but also critical to boosting competitiveness and ensuring sustainable development,” he added.

The NIC leads Vietnam's semiconductor human resource development programme, which aims to train 50,000 engineers by 2030. The centre works closely with partners such as SEMI and international corporations to enhance training and research.

A major milestone came in late 2024 when NIC facilitated a partnership between the Vietnamese government and NVIDIA to establish a Vietnam AI and R&D centre and AI data centre, marking a key step in strengthening the country's digital capacity and innovation ecosystem.

“We invite our global partners to continue placing their trust in Vietnam,” said Huy. “Together, we can unlock new growth, nurture the next generation of talent, and build a future where innovation drives shared prosperity.”

Vu Quoc Huy, NIC director

Ambassador van Baar emphasised that collaboration will be crucial for Vietnam to move beyond assembly and enter higher-value stages of the semiconductor supply chain.

To attract more investment, he said, Vietnam can focus on enhancing its regulatory efficiency, upgrading infrastructure, particularly in energy and digital services, and setting up one-stop administrative support for businesses.

“Strengthening Vietnam's semiconductor industry will create more diversity in the global supply, benefiting not only Vietnam and the Netherlands but the entire world,” he said.

As supply chain diversification accelerates across the world, Vietnam's combination of political stability, competitive costs, and improving technical capabilities has made it an increasingly attractive location for high-tech manufacturing.

Yet, as experts note, joining the semiconductor value chain requires not only investment and incentives but also precision, consistency, and long-term partnerships.

Vietnam's emerging strategy, anchored by innovation policy, international cooperation, and human capital development, aims to address these challenges. The Netherlands' experience offers a practical model: a strong ecosystem built on collaboration among government, academia, and industry.

“The Netherlands stands ready to share its knowledge with Vietnam to achieve these goals,” said van Baar. “We are proud to contribute to this journey, and I hope today's dialogue will lead to new buyer-supplier relations between global semiconductor companies and Vietnamese businesses.”

With momentum building, the focus now turns to execution, turning policy and partnerships into tangible capacity and competitiveness. As Vietnam deepens its ties with global partners and scales up its engineering talent, it is positioning itself not only as a manufacturing base but as a trusted node in the global semiconductor supply chain. "If these efforts continue, Vietnam could soon move from being a fast follower to a meaningful contributor in the technologies that power the modern world," the ambassador said.

The Dutch Embassy and NIC jointly organised the session as part of ongoing efforts to connect global semiconductor equipment manufacturers with potential Vietnamese suppliers. The event also included a Market Connect event, where international buyers shared specific supplier needs and local firms had the opportunity to pitch their capabilities.