On October 11, Amkor Technology (Amkor) of the United States spent $1.6 billion to build a chip packaging and testing plant in Vietnam, which is the latest project invested by foreign semiconductor companies in Southeast Asian countries.。

The Nasdaq-listed company said the plant will use its most advanced technology, focusing on packaging, design and electrical testing services for automotive, communications and advanced computer customers。

Amkor is the market leader in system-in-package (SiP) technology, which places multiple chips in a single carrier package, but China's Lixun Precision and Gol are catching up。The company said SiP will be a top priority for the plant in Vietnam's Pak Ninh province, which has become an electronics hub since Samsung entered the province more than a decade ago.。

When President Joe Biden visited Vietnam in September, he praised Amkor and other chip companies for expanding in Vietnam.。The Arizona-based company's announcement came just days after South Korea's Hana Micron (Hana Micron) said construction of its $1 billion chip packaging and testing plant was under way in Beijiang province.。Marvell plans to open a chip design center in Ho Chi Minh City, but the company said it has "no details yet."。

Those investments are helping the United States and other countries diversify where the technology is made to guard against geopolitical and economic upheaval, although increased security often adds to the cost to some extent.。

Giel Rutten, President of Amkor, said: "This state-of-the-art plant in Vietnam will help Amkor to provide our customers with a wide geographical coverage and maintain a global and regional supply chain, which is safe and reliable.。"

Not only that, but Vietnam has been working to attract such investors.。Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chính visited the United States last month to have a cordial conversation with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and lunch with executives from Kai Teng Electronics and Intel, however, Intel has recently expanded massively in Malaysia.。Vietnam, meanwhile, estimates 50,000 new employees need to be trained for semiconductor industry。

Amkor, a South Korean company founded in 1968, expanded to the United States and entered the field of audio and other electronic products.。A factory owned by its subsidiary Anam exports sound systems for LG and Yamaha, which is located in Haran, a two-hour drive south of the chip plant.。