Intel 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.