High-tech investment flows into HCM City

In early December, NVIDIA signed a cooperation agreement with the Vietnamese government to establish a AI research centre and an AI data center in Vietnam, with HCM City being a key location.

The Saigon High-Tech Park (SHTP) began construction on seven projects in 2024, including three foreign-invested worth US$696 million and four domestic ones with a total capital of VND4.077 trillion (more than US$160 billion). These projects focus on advanced technology and skilled labour.

Key projects include a three-hectare data center, attracting many global firms like Eaton (the US), Warburg Pincus’s Evolution (the US), Hyosung (the Republic of Korea) and NTT Data (Japan). US-based AMD also wants collaboration in digital transformation and AI technology for education in the locality.

Outside the High-Tech Park, other industrial parks havve also caught attention. Saigontel has proposed a data center in the Tan Phu Trung Industrial Zone, while Viettel is building a 6,500-rack data centre with a total investment of VND14.7 trillion. Its first phase is expected to become operational in Q4/2025 and second phase in Q1/2028.

Besides, Smart Tech Group Vietnam, a subsidiary of the US's Smart Tech Group, has proposed a US$550–850 million million battery manufacturing plant in the Hiep Phuoc Industrial Zone.

High-tech investment to boom

The city has shifted its investment strategy, targeting high-tech sectors like semiconductors, automation, and AI.

According to Tran Thi Ngoc Chung from the SHTP Management Board, the value of high-tech products at the park approximated US$20 billion this year, an 18% year-on-year increase, with all new projects boasting advanced technology and skilled workforce.

As many as 12 new projects are expected to kick off in 2025, with a total investment capital exceeding US$1 billion, she said.

The city is also accelerating the transformation of five industrial zones, including Tan Thuan, Binh Chieu, Tan Binh, Hiep Phuoc, and Cat Lai, into high-tech ones.

According to Le Quang Dam, CEO of Marvell Technology Vietnam, investments in AI and data research centers by US tech giants highlight Vietnam's vast potential. Marvell plans to establish more chip design facilities in HCM City and other regions.