Hanoi meeting with Qualcomm CEO
Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary and President To Lam met Qualcomm Chief Executive Cristiano Amon in Hanoi on Thursday, August 28, 2026, and asked the U.S. chip designer to increase investment in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, robotics, 5G/6G, data centers and next-generation connectivity technologies, according to a Vietnamese government statement cited by Reuters and other outlets. Lam said Vietnam was shifting toward a growth model driven by science, technology, innovation, digital transformation and AI and welcomed further investment from Qualcomm. The appeal is part of a broader push by Hanoi to position itself as a regional innovation hub and to draw deeper capital commitments from global semiconductor players.
Qualcomm's third-largest AI R&D hub plan
Amon was quoted as saying Qualcomm wanted to develop its presence in Vietnam into the company's third-largest artificial intelligence research and development hub globally, according to the government statement carried by The Economic Times. Qualcomm already operates an R&D center in Hanoi and has worked with Vietnamese partners including Viettel and VinSmart. The Vietnamese statement did not specify a dollar figure or timeline for any expanded investment, and Qualcomm has not publicly detailed the scope of the proposed hub expansion.
Parallel appeal to Samsung Electronics
In a separate meeting the same day, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung told Samsung Electronics CEO Roh Tae-moon that Vietnam wanted Samsung to remain a key partner in strengthening the country's technological capabilities, developing its industrial base and integrating more deeply into global value chains, according to a second government statement. Hung praised Samsung's contribution to Vietnam's industrial development and exports, saying the country was one of Samsung's most important manufacturing hubs globally. Total exports from Samsung's mobile phone manufacturing entities in Vietnam had reached $500 billion by the end of June since production began 17 years ago, and Samsung has so far invested $24 billion in Vietnam, the statement said. Roh was quoted as saying Samsung planned more investment and training in Vietnam and was working with the government to enable local firms to participate more deeply in its global supply chain.
Other Qualcomm developments
Separately, a Zacks equity research note published on August 28 reported that Qualcomm shares had risen 8.7% since the company's last earnings report, framing the move as a question of whether the stock can continue its post-earnings advance. Elsewhere in product news, Hisense unveiled the Hisense A10 Ultra E Ink smartphone on August 28, a dual-display device pairing an E-Ink touchscreen with a 4.96-inch color LCD on the back, built on a Qualcomm Dragonwing platform.
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