As part of U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Hanoi, top executives from American and Vietnamese companies in the semiconductor, IT, and aviation industries gathered on Monday to discuss new AI deals and to establish commercial ties.
The Vietnam-U.S. Innovation & Investment Summit was attended by senior executives from Google (GOOGL.O), Intel (INTC.O), Amkor (AMKR.O), Marvell (MRVL.O), GlobalFoundries (GFS.O), and Boeing (BA.N), according to the meeting agenda.
Executives from six Vietnamese companies attended, including VinFast, an electric car manufacturer listed on the Nasdaq, Vietnam Airlines, a tech company, MoMo, the largest e-wallet in the nation by user base, and internet startup VNG, which filed for a U.S. IPO in August.
At the meeting, Biden reaffirmed that the two nations were expanding their cooperation in the fields of cloud computing, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence. He also emphasised the importance of Vietnam as a source of essential mineral supplies. The second-largest estimated reserves of rare earths, which are used in wind turbines and electric vehicles, are found in this nation.
The encounter, after a historic upgrading of diplomatic ties reached on Sunday, highlighted the U.S. intention to strengthen Vietnam’s position on the world stage. This is especially true for the semiconductor industry, where Washington is working to lessen its exposure to hazards related to China, such as trade disputes and Taiwan-related conflicts.
The meeting was presided over by U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken and Vietnam’s minister of investments, Nguyen Chi Dzung. Discussions with Vice President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh then followed.
Microsoft’s (MSFT.O) intentions to create a “generative AI-based solution tailored for Vietnam and emerging markets” are among the recently disclosed agreements by the White House.
According to the company, Nvidia (NVDA.O) will collaborate on AI projects in Vietnam with FPT, Viettel, and Vingroup (VIC.HM), VinFast’s parent business.
The White House also emphasised the variety of chip-related investments made by American businesses in Vietnam, such as the intentions of Marvell and Synopsys (SNPS.O) to establish chip design facilities there.
It stated that a brand-new $1.6 billion Amkor factory close to Hanoi is scheduled to begin operations in October and will assemble, package, and test chips. The expenditure is comparable to Intel’s $1.5 billion chip assembly facility in the south of the nation, which is the biggest facility the corporation has ever built globally. This year, sources suggested that it would be enlarged.
According to the White House, Vietnam Airlines will also buy 50 Boeing 737 Max aircraft as part of the deal with a value of roughly $7.5 billion. The White House also announced that American corporation Honeywell (HON.O) will work with a Vietnamese partner to establish a pilot project to create Vietnam’s first battery energy storage system.