VN launching pad for Japanese semiconductors
16:46' 31/08/2006 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Japan’s Renesas Group plans to train 1,000 Vietnamese semiconductor engineers by 2010.
 
The programme is a part of the group’s plan to develop the Japanese semiconductor industry in Asia, under which Vietnam will serve as one of the centres for the plan’s implementation.
 
Renesas Technology Corporation is a cooperation between Hitachi and Mitsubishi. It is one of the biggest Japanese semiconductor groups, and provides product designs and solutions for mobile phones, cars and digital audio and video equipment.
 
Renesas Vietnam Company (RVC) was established in 2004 and now has the total legal capital of $10.2mil. It is the biggest semiconductor design company in Vietnam , specialising in designing systematic solutions and systems on chip.
 
RVC has cooperated with Vietnam-based universities to provide training courses on semiconductor technology in order to create a qualified labour force to work for RVC.
 
Satoru Ito, President and Chief Executive Officer of Renesas Technology Corporation, said that Renesas had chosen RVC as one of the most important design centres in the group’s development plan. He said that the group made the decision because it was aware of the attention paid by the Government of Vietnam to the development of technology.
 
The start of construction of the LSI (Large-scale integration) Design Centre office began on August 31.The office building is located at Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone in HCM City, and covers 20,000 sq m. RVC now employs 200 semiconductor engineers, and the figure is expected to rise to 1,000 by 2010. The products designed by RVC will mainly be sold to international groups.
 
Japan once was the leader in the semiconductor industry. However, western countries and China and Taiwan have recently become redoubtable rivals in the field. Japanese companies like Sony, NEC, Renesas Technology have vowed to reclaim the industry that was once their country’s strength.