Post date:
Wed, 05/26/2021 - 10:06am
A medical staffer collects a sample from a local resident during a COVID-19 corona virus testing at the Xindian District in New Taipei City on May 21. A global semiconductor shortage is being exacerbated by Taiwan’s lack of access to COVID-19 vaccines that it is blaming on Chinese pressure. (Photo/Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)
Back in February, as the world was beating a path to Taiwan’s door for help to tackle a shortage of semiconductors, the health minister got into a scrap with China over COVID-19 vaccines.
Beijing, he suggested, had used political pressure to derail Taiwan’s plan to purchase five million doses directly from Germany’s BioNTech SE, rather than via a Chinese company which held the rights to develop and market the BioNTech-Pfizer Inc. vaccine across China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying retorted that Taipei “should stop hyping up political issues under the pretext of v
Sentiment rises among Taiwan manufacturers, weakens in service sector
05/25/2021 09:13 PM
CNA photo May 25, 2021
Taipei, May 25 (CNA) Business sentiment among export-oriented manufacturers in Taiwan improved in April from the previous month, as the global economy continued to recover, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) said Tuesday.
In the service sector, however, business sentiment weakened, amid growing worry over shrinking domestic demand caused by an escalation of indigenous COVID-19 infections, TIER said.
The composite index for the service sector fell 1.06 points in April, from the previous month, to 100.41, it said.
The local semiconductor industry continued to be boosted by solid global demand for emerging technologies such as 5G applications, high performance computing devices and automotive electronics, TIER said.
Published on: Tuesday, May 25, 2021
By: Bloomberg
Text Size:
A logo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) is seen at its headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan. (Image: Reuters/Tyrone Siu)
TAIPEI: Back in February, as the world was beating a path to Taiwan’s door for help to tackle a shortage of semiconductors, the health minister got into a scrap with China over Covid-19 vaccines.
Beijing, he suggested, had used political pressure to derail Taiwan’s plan to purchase five million doses directly from Germany’s BioNTech SE, rather than via a Chinese company which held the rights to develop and market the BioNTech-Pfizer Inc. vaccine across China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.