Vietnam’s Semiconductor Incentives: 8 Policies Korean Companies Should Know in 2026

When a Korean semiconductor company evaluates Vietnam, the first questions are usually practical: How much will it cost? Can we recruit the right engineers? Which tax incentives are real? Can a local team access design and prototyping infrastructure? And, ultimately, is there a credible path to customers and commercialization?

Vietnam is changing on all five fronts.

Under Decision 1018/QD-TTg, Vietnam’s semiconductor strategy through 2030, with a vision to 2050, aims to build capabilities across chip research, design, manufacturing, packaging, testing and commercialization. The important point for Korean companies is that participation is not limited to building a mega-fab. Fabless firms, AI-chip and NPU developers, EDA/IP providers, embedded-software companies, test engineering teams and R&D centers can all fit into the emerging ecosystem.

AI-generated editorial illustration — depicted people are not real

The eight policies at a glance

1. Preferential corporate income tax: 10% for up to 15 years

Vietnam’s Corporate Income Tax Law No. 67/2025/QH15 took effect on October 1, 2025. Decree 320/2025/ND-CP details cases where a 10% CIT rate can apply for 15 years, including qualifying new investment projects and projects in eligible locations such as high-tech parks and concentrated digital-technology zones.

For qualifying projects, tax incentives can also include up to four years of CIT exemption followed by up to nine years at a 50% reduction, depending on the applicable investment category and project conditions.

A simple illustration: if a company has VND 10 billion of taxable income, a 20% standard-rate assumption would produce VND 2 billion of tax, while a 10% preferential rate would produce VND 1 billion before considering any further exemption or reduction.

The difference can be significant over a long project life.

But the incentive is not automatic merely because a company “works in semiconductors.” Eligibility depends on the activity, investment structure, location, project registration and supporting documentation.

What Korean companies should do

Before incorporating a Vietnam entity or filing a new investment project, map the planned activities—chip design, R&D, software, manufacturing, packaging/testing or other digital-technology work—to the actual incentive categories. The choice of location and project structure at the beginning can affect tax outcomes for years.

2. Five-year PIT exemption for qualifying high-quality digital-technology talent

As of November 2026, the legal basis should be read through the current Personal Income Tax framework. Law No. 109/2025/QH15, effective July 1, 2026, provides a five-year PIT exemption for salary and wage income of individuals classified as high-quality human resources in the digital-technology industry for specified activities. Decree 253/2026/ND-CP provides implementation details.

The covered categories include income from:

• digital-technology industry projects in digital-technology parks;
• R&D and manufacturing projects for key digital-technology products, semiconductor chips and AI systems; and
• training of digital-technology industry human resources.

Foreigners can potentially qualify if they meet the high-quality talent criteria. Those criteria are linked to the Law on Digital Technology Industry No. 71/2025/QH15 and Decree 353/2025/ND-CP.

For a Korean NPU or fabless company establishing an R&D team in Vietnam, this can be relevant when assigning senior architects, technical directors or specialized engineers.

The key caution: a senior title, a high salary or simply working in AI does not automatically create the exemption. The individual, project and income stream must satisfy the legal criteria.

3. R&D expenses can be deductible up to 200%

Semiconductor development is unusually R&D-intensive. Architecture work, verification, prototyping, firmware, toolchains and engineering payroll can consume substantial cash long before commercial revenue arrives.

Under the CIT framework and Decree 320/2025/ND-CP, eligible R&D expenses may be treated as deductible expenses at up to 200% of actual qualifying R&D spend.

If a company incurs VND 10 billion of qualifying R&D expense, the deductible amount can reach VND 20 billion if the conditions are fully met.

This is not a government reimbursement of 200% of R&D cost. It is a tax deduction mechanism used to determine taxable income. Documentation requirements apply, and Decree 320 also requires that the additional deduction not push the enterprise into a tax loss.

For Korean companies building chip-design, AI-accelerator, firmware, embedded-software or system-software capability in Vietnam, the rule can materially improve the economics of an R&D center.

4. Residence support for foreign experts

The Law on Digital Technology Industry also provides a talent-attraction framework. Foreigners recognized as high-quality digital-technology industry personnel can qualify for temporary residence cards with a validity of up to five years, subject to immigration rules.

Spouses and children under 18 can receive temporary residence cards with corresponding validity.

Vietnamese labor law also provides work-permit exemptions for certain categories, but this is a separate determination and should not be assumed automatically from the residence-card rule.

For Korean companies, the practical value is continuity: a chief engineer, R&D manager, design lead or technical executive can potentially remain in Vietnam long enough to build a stable team rather than rotating on short assignments.

5. VNMPW/CC: a bridge from chip design to prototyping

Vietnam has now established and launched the Vietnam National Multi-Project Wafer Coordination Center, or VNMPW/CC. The center is intended to connect domestic chip research and design with the global semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem and support pilot production.

Government information describes functions including access to design tools and software libraries, technical support during design and coordination of pilot chip production. The industry material reviewed by KVBiz also describes a broader intended role around MPW access, foundry and ATP connections, EDA/IP infrastructure, laboratories and post-fabrication validation.

MPW is important because multiple compatible chip designs can share a wafer run, reducing the cost barrier for prototypes and early silicon.

For Korean fabless firms and startups, VNMPW/CC is therefore worth investigating as a potential partner for joint research, training, prototype runs and commercialization in Vietnam.

However, companies should still confirm the operational details directly: foundry partners, technology nodes, PDK availability, MPW calendar, pricing, test capability and actual service lead times.

6. Support for factories, equipment and semiconductor supply chains

The opportunity is not limited to chip design.

Korean companies in packaging, testing, semiconductor equipment, materials, components and supporting industries may also qualify for incentives depending on their project.

Potential mechanisms include:

• land-rent incentives in eligible cases;
• import-duty exemptions for qualifying machinery and equipment forming fixed assets;
• import-duty treatment for eligible raw materials, supplies and components used in semiconductor production;
• customs-facilitation mechanisms for qualifying enterprises; and
• access to investment, manufacturing and R&D support programs.

The caveat matters. “Land-rent exemption” does not mean every factory lease is free, and “import-duty exemption” does not mean every machine or material enters duty-free. Project type, HS codes, location, approved investment documents and the relevant incentive list must all be checked.

7. Financial support programs: opportunity, not guaranteed funding

Vietnam is also expanding programs for technology development, workforce training, R&D, pilot manufacturing, fixed assets and innovation.

For Korean companies, the most realistic routes may include joint R&D with Vietnamese universities, specialized technology-development projects, engineering training programs or the establishment of R&D centers.

But a support policy is not the same thing as an approved grant.

Before including public funding in a business plan, confirm:

• whether a specific program is open for applications;
• whether foreign-invested enterprises are eligible;
• the support ratio and eligible cost categories;
• the selection process;
• disbursement conditions; and
• any local counterpart or matching-fund requirements.

8. Vietnam is building toward a 2030 semiconductor ecosystem

Decision 1018 sets concrete 2030 targets:

• at least 100 chip-design companies;
• one small-scale semiconductor manufacturing plant;
• 10 packaging and testing plants;
• more than 50,000 semiconductor engineers and graduates;
• annual semiconductor-industry revenue above USD 25 billion; and
• local value added of roughly 10–15%.

The VNMPW industry material reviewed for this article also cites a snapshot of 58 chip-design companies, about 7,000 design engineers, 10 packaging/testing projects and roughly 6,000 engineers in that segment.

Those snapshot numbers should not be read as a November 2026 audited count of currently operating companies. They reflect the status presented in the source material at its reporting date.

What matters strategically is the direction: Vietnam is trying to build a full pipeline from talent and design to prototyping, packaging/testing and commercialization.

Korea–Vietnam cooperation adds a policy platform

On April 24, 2026, Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Science and ICT, together with Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology, held the Korea–Vietnam Science and Technology Innovation Forum at VKIST.

The two sides presented a framework for a master plan covering joint research, human-resource development, dissemination of research outcomes and infrastructure support. Priority technology areas include AI, semiconductors, secondary batteries, biotechnology, energy and resources.

For companies, government-level cooperation does not replace a commercial project. But it can make it easier to identify research partners, training programs, institutional contacts and cross-border technology opportunities.

Which Korean companies should investigate this now?

Fabless and IC-design companies

Vietnam can be evaluated for design, verification, firmware, SDK and engineering teams, especially where the goal is to extend Korean core R&D rather than duplicate an entire organization.

AI-chip and NPU companies

Potential collaboration areas include inference software, SDKs, model optimization, firmware, edge-AI systems and industrial applications.

Packaging and testing companies

Vietnam’s strategy explicitly includes packaging/testing capacity. Companies can examine manufacturing investment, supplier development and joint workforce training.

EDA, IP and equipment providers

The ecosystem needs tools, IP, design enablement, test systems, manufacturing equipment and training. This can support partnership and channel strategies without requiring a large manufacturing footprint.

Robotics, automotive electronics and automation companies

These sectors increasingly depend on specialized chips, embedded software, AI inference and hardware-software integration. Vietnam can be a place to build application engineering around those products.

Software and engineering service companies

Factory systems, test automation, data platforms, embedded development and manufacturing AI are all adjacent opportunities created by semiconductor investment.

Five checks before making an investment decision

Step 1 — Define the investment model

Is the plan an R&D subsidiary, design center, factory, joint research project, engineering team or product-development partnership?

Step 2 — Validate incentive eligibility

Review tax, talent, land and import rules against the exact activity, project location and investment registration.

Step 3 — Validate the talent pool

Do not evaluate “Vietnam engineers” as one homogeneous pool. Check availability and salary by specialty: RTL, verification, physical design, DFT, analog, firmware, embedded Linux, AI compilers, validation and test engineering can have very different supply conditions.

Step 4 — Validate technology infrastructure

If tape-out or MPW access matters, confirm foundry, PDK, EDA stack, IP licensing, MPW schedule, packaging, test and total prototype cost before committing a product roadmap.

Step 5 — Build the commercialization path

An R&D center is strongest when it has a defined customer, internal product owner, offtake path or revenue model. Incentives can improve economics, but they cannot replace product-market fit.

Conclusion: a good time to investigate, not a reason to rush

Vietnam is moving from being a major electronics-manufacturing base toward a deeper semiconductor strategy.

Tax incentives, talent rules, R&D deductions, residence support and the VNMPW/CC prototyping platform can create meaningful advantages for qualifying investors. For Korean companies, the opportunity is broader than building a factory: R&D centers, engineering teams, AI-chip commercialization, EDA/IP partnerships and semiconductor-support services can all be relevant.

The right question is not “Which country offers the biggest incentive on paper?” It is whether a project can combine technical capability, talent, policy eligibility and market demand in one operating model.

For Korean semiconductor companies considering Vietnam, 2026 is a good time to run that analysis carefully.

Legal note: This article is an editorial overview, not legal, tax or investment advice. Incentive eligibility and administrative requirements must be confirmed for each project with qualified advisers and competent Vietnamese authorities.

Frequently asked questions

Editorial methodology and update date

This guide was reviewed on 11 November 2026 against Vietnam government legislation and notices, the Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs announcement of 24 April 2026, and the sector presentation supplied to KVBiz. Government strategy targets are distinguished from dated industry snapshots, and investment incentives are described as conditional. The image is editorial illustration, not evidence of a specific company or event.