Intel shelves planned chip operation expansion in Vietnam - source
By Francesco Guarascio
HANOI (Reuters) — Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) has shelved a planned investment in Vietnam that could have nearly doubled the U.S. chipmaker's operation there, one person briefed on the plans said, in a blow to the country's growing ambitions in the chips industry.
The Southeast Asian electronics manufacturing hub is home to Intel's largest factory worldwide for assembling, packaging and testing chips, and has been banking on the company further expanding there especially after Joe Biden announced deals to support Vietnam's chips industry during a visit in September.
Vietnam is keen to position itself as an alternative to China and Taiwan, amid political risks and trade tensions with the United States.
But shortly after Biden's visit, U.S. officials informed a select group of U.S. businessmen and experts that Intel had shelved an expansion plan, one of the participants in the meeting told Reuters.
The source, who declined to be named because the information was confidential, said Intel had made that decision around July.
The company did not say why it had called off the expansion, the person said, but a second source who attended two separate meetings in recent weeks between U.S. companies and top Vietnamese officials said Intel had raised concerns about the stability of power supplies and excessive bureaucracy.
One of those meetings took place last week in Hanoi and was attended by Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang.
Asked about the plan, Intel declined to comment but told Reuters: «Vietnam will continue to be a critical part of our global manufacturing operations as demand for semiconductors grows.»
The U.S. embassy in Hanoi declined to comment. The Vietnamese government did not reply to
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