US, Vietnam firms hold business summit during Biden visit; AI deals unveiled

As Vice President Joe Biden of the United States visits Hanoi on Monday, executives from leading U.S. and Vietnamese enterprises in the semiconductor, technology, and aviation industries will meet to develop commercial relationships and announce new agreements in artificial intelligence.

A draft agenda verifies a Reuters story that senior executives from Google (GOOGL.O), Intel (INTC.O), Amkor (AMKR.O), Marvell (MRVL.O), GlobalFoundries (GFS.O), and Boeing (BA.N) would be present at the Vietnam-U.S. Innovation & Investment Summit.
Executives from half a dozen Vietnamese firms are there, including electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast (which is listed on the Nasdaq), national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (HVN.HM), technology company FPT (FPT.HM), MoMo (the most popular e-wallet in Vietnam), and internet firm VNG (which filed for a U.S. IPO in August).

The U.S. is committed to increasing Vietnam’s worldwide influence, and this meeting comes on the heels of a historic improvement in diplomatic ties agreed to on Sunday. This is especially true in the semiconductor industry since the Trump administration is working to lessen the chip industry’s vulnerability to hazards associated with China. Taiwan
The agenda calls for the meeting to be presided over by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Vietnamese Minister of Investment Nguyen Chi Dzung, and then conversations with Vice President Joe Biden and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

Microsoft (MSFT.O), one of the companies involved in the recently announced partnerships by the White House, wants to develop a “generative AI-based solution tailored for Vietnam and emerging markets.”

It was also announced that VinFast’s parent firm, Vingroup (VIC.HM), and Nvidia (NVDA.O) will work together in Vietnam to advance artificial intelligence.

White House officials also lauded Marvell and Synopsys’ (SNPS.O) intentions to establish chip design centers in Vietnam as examples of the many chip-related investments made by U.S. corporations.

The report said that Amkor’s new $1.6 billion facility outside of Hanoi will begin chip assembly, packaging, and testing in October.

Intel’s $1.5 billion chip assembly factory in the southern United States is the company’s largest in the world. Thus, the investment is in line with that. Earlier this year, rumors surfaced suggesting an expansion was possible.

According to Reuters’ sources, the deal is worth roughly $7.5 billion and involves selling 50 Boeing 737 Max aircraft to Vietnam Airlines.

The White House also announced that U.S. conglomerate Honeywell (HON.O) will undertake a pilot project with a Vietnamese partner to construct Vietnam’s first battery energy storage system.