Innovation

Vietnam’s First Chip Plant Is Unlikely to Meet Its 2027 Target, Reuters Reports

Reuters reports that Viettel's $1.3 billion plant near Hanoi is unlikely to start trial production in 2027, with no equipment deal yet signed with ASML.

By The BB Report October 26, 2026

Vietnam’s First Chip Plant Is Unlikely to Meet Its 2027 Target, Reuters Reports — A silicon wafer carrying rows of chip dies, shown against a dark background. Photo: Enrique Jiménez / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Key takeaways

Reuters reported on 26 October that Vietnam’s first chip plant is unlikely to begin trial production in 2027.
People familiar with the matter say no deal has been reached with ASML for the chipmaking equipment.
Viettel says the project is progressing in line with its established plan and schedule, while Viet Nam News reports a phase-one target of one small-scale manufacturing factory by 2030.

Vietnam’s first semiconductor factory is unlikely to start trial production in 2027, according to a Reuters exclusive published on 26 October. The report, by Francesco Guarascio, Khanh Vu and Toby Sterling, says a person with direct knowledge of the project puts the delay down to the developer’s inexperience in building chip plants and to administrative hurdles in securing government funding.

The same people say no deal has been reached to buy the chipmaking equipment from ASML, the Dutch company that holds a monopoly on the most sophisticated extreme ultraviolet machines. Viettel, the military-run telecoms and defence group building the plant, told Reuters the project is progressing in line with its plan. The episode shows how hard it is for a newcomer to enter an industry where a single supplier’s order book can decide the timetable.

What Reuters Found at the Site

Authorities estimate the plant will cost about $1.3 billion. It sits on the outskirts of Hanoi, and a Reuters visit the week before publication found the ground still overgrown. Satellite images from Planet Labs taken in January and from Airbus taken in October show no buildings, the agency reported.

One person told Reuters that the project is ongoing but its timeline is unclear, and that the 2027 target would probably not be achieved because of Viettel’s lack of experience and slow approvals for state funding. Vietnam’s finance ministry did not respond to requests for comment, and ASML declined to comment on the talks.

Viettel’s own response was brief. The company said the project is "progressing in line with the established plan and schedule" and that it would provide further updates at an appropriate time.

Key Figures

Estimated cost of the plant: about $1.3 billion. Site: Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park, about 27 hectares, groundbreaking on 16 January 2026. Original aims: 32-nanometre technology, trial production at the end of 2027 and full operation by 2030. ASML’s third-quarter 2026 net sales were €11.7 billion.

A 32-Nanometre Ambition for a Newcomer

Viettel held the groundbreaking ceremony on 16 January at the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park outside Hanoi, according to The Investor. The site covers about 27 hectares. The plant was due to operate initially at the 32-nanometre technology node, with trial production slated for the end of 2027. From 2028 to 2030, Viettel planned to improve manufacturing processes and efficiency. Reuters reports that Viettel said at the time it wanted the plant fully operational by 2030, supplying chips to the aerospace, telecom and auto sectors.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh addressed the ceremony and described the project as a sign that Vietnam’s ability to master high technologies is growing, The Investor reported. The plant is also meant to serve as a training centre for semiconductor engineers.

The 32-nanometre figure now looks less certain. Reuters says Viettel’s January presentation cited that technology, which Reuters calls an ambitious starting point for a newcomer, and that the reference was subsequently removed from the company’s website. Viettel has not disclosed any chipmaking partner. For comparison, Reuters notes that Tata Electronics has said its $11 billion project in Gujarat, developed with Taiwan’s PSMC, will begin with 55- and 90-nanometre processes before adding 28-nanometre production.

The ASML Bottleneck

Three people told Reuters that talks with ASML have run for months. Two of them said the discussions covered a deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machine. Reuters could not determine why no agreement has been reached or which DUV model was discussed, a detail that affects whether Dutch export controls would apply.

ASML holds a monopoly on the most sophisticated extreme ultraviolet machines and is the largest supplier of immersion DUV systems, where it competes with Japan’s Nikon, Reuters notes. The company has said publicly that demand is running ahead of what it can build. In its third-quarter results on 14 October, ASML reported net sales of €11.7 billion and net income of €5.0 billion. Chief executive Christophe Fouquet said "our supply as currently planned for both 2027 and 2028 will not fully meet the demand of our customers".

ASML said it is studying ways to raise capacity in 2028 beyond the 30% increase it had previously announced. Reuters adds that supply constraints for older-generation equipment are expected to be less severe than for the most advanced machines.

Where the Plant Fits in Vietnam’s Strategy

The fabrication plant is one piece of a national plan. A semiconductor strategy signed in September 2024, running to 2030 with a vision to 2050, calls in its first phase for at least 100 chip design companies, one small-scale manufacturing plant, 10 packaging and testing plants and more than 50,000 engineers and graduates, according to Viet Nam News. The same report sets a revenue goal of more than $25 billion for the industry by 2030. VietNamNet gives a $50 billion annual revenue figure for the same year, so the two sources disagree on the 2030 revenue target.

Vietnam already has a stronger position in the final stages of chipmaking. Reuters says it is a fast-growing hub for assembly, testing and packaging, where Intel, Amkor Technology and Hana Micron run large factories and Samsung Electronics plans a chip-testing facility. The ruling Communist Party wants Vietnam to become a high-income economy by 2045, with growth of at least 10% through 2030.

Industry sources told Reuters that the government has so far failed to attract foreign investors for a fabrication plant. That is the context in which a military-run telecoms and defence group took on the job.

Satellite images from Planet Labs taken in January and from Airbus taken in October show no buildings, the agency reported.

Gaps Flagged Earlier

The obstacles Reuters describes are not new. In November 2025, VietNamNet quoted Nguyen Quan, a former minister of science and technology, listing the gaps that make foreign investors hesitate: stable high-quality electricity, ultra-pure water, a skilled workforce and clear answers about who will buy the chips. "Production without sales means failure," he said. He also said institutions are the bottleneck of bottlenecks.

Foreign money has gone to the back end of the supply chain instead. VietNamNet reported in November 2025 that Amkor committed more than $1 billion in additional capital in 2024 to expand in Bac Ninh province, and that Vietnam offers four years of tax exemption followed by a 50% reduction for nine years.

The workforce target adds another test. The strategy aims for at least 50,000 engineers and workers with bachelor’s or higher degrees by 2030, a programme set out in a companion decision, Viet Nam News reported.

What to Watch Next

The report describes a schedule risk, not a cancellation. Viettel says it will give updates when appropriate, and the company has yet to say whether it has an equipment contract or a manufacturing partner. Reuters could not confirm which DUV machine is under discussion, so the export-control question also remains open.

For Vietnam, the practical test is whether construction visibly begins at Hoa Lac and whether an equipment order is announced. For the wider industry, the case illustrates a point ASML itself has made: with orders for 2027 and 2028 already ahead of capacity, a first-time chip builder has little room to be late.