HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited the headquarters of Nvidia and Synopsys, encouraging them and other U.S. technology companies to invest further in the Southeast Asian country’s semiconductor industry.
“Vietnam is willing to open its doors to all investors to invest and do business there,” Chinh was quoted as saying in a government statement during his visit to the United States.
Chinh’s trip follows a visit by US President Joe Biden to Hanoi this month, where the two leaders announced improved bilateral ties and plans to deepen cooperation in several areas, including chips, AI and critical minerals.
Chinh pledged to facilitate future investments by Nvidia and Synopsys in Vietnam, the statement said.
The statement quoted Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang as telling Chinh that “Nvidia wants to cooperate with Vietnam in the areas of semiconductors, information technology and artificial intelligence.”
Synopsys, which plans to build chip design centers in Vietnam, signed memoranda of understanding with Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Investment on Monday.
Nvidia, a top supplier of servers to Vietnam, and Synopsys did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
US chipmaker Intel has its largest factory for assembling, packaging and testing chips in southern Vietnam, while rival Amkor is building a large factory for assembling and testing semiconductors near Hanoi.
Chinh is in the US this week for the United Nations General Assembly, after which he plans to visit Brazil.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
