Dutch chips companies to invest in Vietnam, PM Rutte says

Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (rights) and the Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte (left) wave during a meeting at the Government Office in Hanoi on November 2, 2023. - AFP

HANOI (Reuters): Dutch semiconductor companies and suppliers are planning manufacturing investments in Vietnam, top officials told Reuters during a business mission to Hanoi led by outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Initial known investments are not large, but signal a shift to reduce reliance on China as a hub for exports amid increasing trade tensions between Beijing and the West which have curbed the Netherlands' sales of the most advanced chips to China.