HCMC – U.S.-based technology corporation Intel plans to increase investment and expand its operations in HCMC, Intel Products Vietnam (IPV) general director Kim Huat Ooi stated during the HCMC-U.S. Business Summit on August 25.
For 14 years, Intel has been operating a chip assembly and test plant worth over US$1 billion at the Saigon Hi-tech Park in District 9, HCMC, making it the first technology company in Vietnam with an investment of more than US$1 billion.
Covering 46,000 square meters, the IPV plant is the American tech firm’s largest chip assembly and test plant globally, employing some 5,000 skilled workers and offering products made in Vietnam to countries around the world.
“As of March 2020, the IPV plant had produced 2 billion products. We are capable of producing 25 products every second, including semiconductor chips, processing chips for computers and other devices,” Ooi revealed.
“We have invested over US$1 billion and our export revenue has been reaching more than US$3.6 billion annually over the past 10 years. We plan to invest more in the coming years. With this new investment that we plan to pour into HCMC, our export revenue would increase significantly,” he added.
According to Ooi, IPV is operating efficiently thanks to the quality human resources, improved infrastructure and the city’s incentives for hi-tech companies. Besides this, the Vietnamese Government has taken prompt and drastic measures to fight off the Covid-19 pandemic, helping IPV maintain stable operations during the crisis.
“IPV’s production in the first half of 2020 increased by 30%, contributing three quarters of our chip tests globally,” Ooi shared. Besides Vietnam, Intel is operating other chip assembly and test plants in Malaysia and China.
The IPV general director did not give details about the upcoming investment. However, the Saigon Hi-tech Park management board said Intel has used only half of the land it rents at the park, so the investment would be large.
The local media has earlier reported that Intel CEO Bob Swan said the company would stop manufacturing its own chips and is considering outsourcing chip production, raising concerns over its chip production project at the Saigon Hi-tech Park.
However, a representative of IPV said some local media outlets had misinterpreted the information. According to the official, Swan only said he is considering the possibility of the company outsourcing manufacturing 7-nanometer chips to meet its chip manufacturing commitments. The American chipmaker is still focusing on its 10-nanometer chips to meet the global demand.
By Hung Le
