Samsung Commits $1.5 Billion to Establish First Chip Testing Facility in Vietnam, Targeting 2027 Launch to Ease Memory Shortage

Samsung Electronics plans to invest 39 trillion Vietnamese dong (approximately $1.5 billion) to build its first chip testing factory in Vietnam. The project aims to alleviate the global memory chip shortage exacerbated by surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand. Located in an industrial park about 60 kilometers north of Hanoi, construction is already underway, with operations slated to begin in November 2027.

According to a proposal submitted by Samsung for environmental permits, the new facility's annual production capacity is projected to include 153.3 billion gigabits (Gb) of DRAM chips and an additional 255.6 billion gigabits of NAND flash memory chips. This investment received approval from Vietnamese authorities in March 2026. It remains unclear whether all necessary permits have been secured or if negotiations with Vietnamese officials are ongoing.

Reports from as early as April indicated Samsung's plan to invest roughly $4 billion in a semiconductor packaging and testing plant in northern Vietnam. This project is expected to proceed in phases, with an initial investment of $2 billion, marking the company's largest single investment in the sector since entering Vietnam in 2008. Since April, over 200 Samsung engineers and staff have been conducting preliminary work at the site—a common practice in Vietnamese industry to accelerate project timelines before final approvals.

Documents indicate the factory will focus on producing "legacy chips," meaning memory products not at the most advanced process nodes. While their direct importance to the AI supply chain is relatively lower, these traditional memory chips face significant supply constraints as manufacturers shift more capacity to AI chip production. Strong demand for memory chips from AI data center operators has severely impacted supply for industries like smartphones, laptops, and automobiles. Samsung's increased investment in this testing facility is expected to help alleviate this situation to some degree.

This chip testing plant is part of Samsung's broader investment blueprint in Vietnam. To date, the company has invested over $23 billion in the country across several projects over the past decades, making it the largest foreign investor in Vietnam. The new testing facility site is near Samsung's existing large-scale manufacturing bases for smartphones and tablets in the country.

Furthermore, Samsung's ambitions extend beyond a single factory. Documents show the company plans to allocate up to approximately $2.5 billion from the potential profits of this project toward funding a potential second factory. This indicates Samsung's long-term confidence in Vietnam's strategic value as a backend semiconductor manufacturing hub.

Vietnam holds a significant position in the global semiconductor backend (assembly, packaging, and testing) industry. Typically, backend processes are more labor-intensive and involve less sophisticated technology compared to frontend wafer fabrication. However, Vietnam's role in the Southeast Asian semiconductor landscape appears to be transforming—evolving from a low-cost assembly base into a strategic node for core capacity of multinational giants.

The move by Intel is particularly representative. In May 2026, Intel confirmed relocating part of its assembly, packaging, and testing operations from Costa Rica to Vietnam. The products being moved are not low-end chips but high-end products for data center servers and next-generation network connectivity, including Panther Lake and Wildcat Lake processors based on Intel's advanced 18A process. Intel's Vietnam facility, located in the Saigon Hi-Tech Park, covers 46.6 hectares with a cumulative investment of about $1.5 billion, making it the company's largest assembly and test base globally. The plant's export value has risen steadily: $10.31 billion in 2023, $11.41 billion in 2024, $11.67 billion in 2025, with an estimated $14.6 billion in 2026, representing a 25% year-on-year increase.

Additionally, Amkor Technology has invested a total of $1.6 billion since 2021 to build advanced packaging facilities in Bac Ninh province, northern Vietnam. Hana Micron also plans to invest approximately $930 million by 2026 to expand its packaging capabilities in Vietnam.

Regarding domestic breakthroughs, on January 16, 2026, Vietnamese telecom giant Viettel began construction on the country's first chip fabrication plant in the Hanoi-Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park. Covering 27 hectares and utilizing a 32nm process, the plant aims to begin trial production by the end of 2027.

The Vietnamese government's national semiconductor strategy explicitly aims for the country to become a major global semiconductor supplier by 2050, with a goal of establishing at least 10 chip packaging and testing facilities by 2030. Furthermore, in December 2025, the Vietnamese government voted to halt exports of rare earth elements—Vietnam possesses the world's second-largest reserves. This decision is interpreted as a signal to leverage this resource advantage into strategic筹码 within the semiconductor supply chain.