The number of FinTech startups in Vietnam has almost tripled from 44 to 121 between 2017 and 2020, with 31% of them operating in payments, according to a report released by Fintech News Singapore.

Despite the pandemic and US-China trade tensions, Southeast Asian capital markets have remained resilient, with local IPO activity from January up to mid October 2020 reaching pre-pandemic levels, and with 100 IPOs raising a total of US$6.44 billion.

Wafer fab capacity has been tight with Taiwanese foundry houses seeign clear order visibility through 2021. Foundry houses have raised their quotes to reflect tight capacity, further buoyign their profitability. LCD panel prices have also been rising, thanks to strong demand amid tight supply as a result of component shortages. Panel quotes are expected rise by about 20% in fourth-quarter 2020...

In view of the fact that academic research has always been a key force driving national economic development, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) commissioned the Center of Industry Accelerator and Patent Strategy (IAPS), National Chiao Tung University to carry out the Integrated Cross-campus Accelerator Network (iCAN) program in 2016 and further established the Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA)...

Taiwan-based semiconductor makers such as Unimicron and Kinsus are expected to see their orders for 5G handsets to pick up significantly in 2021 as demand for 5G phones is expected to be brisk. Meanwhile, UMC will also see its capacity utilization rates stay in high gear in the first half of 2021 because of strong orders for wafer services...

AMD is posing a strong challenge to Intel in the server processor market, with its share in the segment standing a good chance of reaching 20% in 2021. In the memory sector, supply constraints in speciality DRAM and NOR flash are sending spot market prices up. The carmaking industry is also seeing disruption to production thanks to shortages of MCUs and other ICs.

E-paper solution provider E Ink Holdings (EIH) has managed to solicit more partners to join its e-paper application ecosystem, with an aim to jointly promote further adoption of e-paper solutions in hospitals, factories and retail stores, according to Digitimes Research.

Taiwan-based makers of medical devices and materials currently are technologically 2-3 years ahead of their Chinese competitors although the latter have a huge domestic market, said Harry Yang, vice president for Qisda's Medical Device and Product Group

Apple's adopting LiDAR based on dToF (direct time of flight) for iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPad (2020) is expected to prompt Android smartphone vendors to follow suit, likely to replace indirect ToF (iToF) to become the mainstream 3D depth-sensing technology in 2021.

Foundry supply has been tight, but it may not be easy for foundry houses to expand capacity, with a lack of funding being one of the difficulties. PSMC's solution is an "open foundry" business model, letting clients shoulder the investments in equipment that will be reserved for their exclusive use...