Taiwan's PCB makers in the supply chain of iPhone 13 series are set to know whether Apple will cut or increase orders during the last week of September, but most of them are optimistic that additional orders will come from the US vendor, according to industry sources.

Taiwan's OSATs have seen their plants in Suzhou, Jiangsu province little affected by a power supply cut enforced by China under its carbon reduction policy, but they are more concerned that year-end labor shortage may impact their production and shipments, according to industry sources.

China with its 14th 5-year Plan (2021-2025) will be stepping up the development of the country's homegrown third-generation semiconductor industry supply chain, according to industry observers.

China-based LCD panel makers, in a bid to reduce output, are estimated to have reduced utilization of production capacities in September from an average of 94.6% in August to about 90%, according to CINNO Research.

Glass substrates shortage will remain in fourth-quarter 2021 but is expected to ease off in first-quarter 2022, according to industry sources.

LED lighting maker Tons Lightology has obtained orders with shipments scheduled until several months after but has had shipments deferred due to congested logistics operations at many harbors around the world and shortage of containers, according to the company.

China's new energy car maker Li Auto is lowering sales projections by 500-1,500 units for the third quarter as semiconductor shortages persist.

India's Ultraviolette Automotive is preparing to launch high-performance e-scooters both locally and overseas.

India has seen record growth in smart TV demand and large investments in the green energy sector. Government subsidies have attracted 19 firms, mostly Indian, to invest in solar energy.

Price of 11.6-inch panels is falling amid softening demand for Chromebooks, but AU Optronics (AUO) chairman Paul Peng stays positive about notebook demand in the coming years, saying remote learning has become as necessary as classroom learning.

With the prolonged US-China trade war causing Taiwan's position in the tech supply chain to become more and more prevalent, many hidden titans of the nation are starting to surface. Besides being home to the internationally renowned Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Taiwan is also the world leader in the field of power supplies, among which ranks Delta Electronics, the company with the world's largest market share in power supplies and whose products are used in fields including automotive, industrial, networking, servers, and personal computers. Not one to rest on its laurels, Delta Electronics is still constantly striving to strengthen its lead. In addition to investing considerable funds into R&D, the company also announced the establishment of an Academia-Industry Research Center (AIR Center) with the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (hereafter referred to as Taiwan Tech) in 2020, committing to the investment of at least NT$30 million over the next three years. Research in the initial stages will focus on topics such as green server rooms and energy storage, with the overall focus targeting the three major areas of 5G, cloud, and artificial intelligence.

Tech can enable social impact, especially with capital funding. Joan Yao, VP of Investment of Kickstart Ventures, the corporate VC affiliated to Philippines' Globe Telecom, brought her story alive by sharing how tech enables social impact and her experience as an impact investor at Women in Venture XIII fireside chats with the host and curator of the event, Elisa Chiu, Anchor Taiwan founder, and CEO.

Smartphone sales were strong in Indonesia in second-quarter 2021, with Xiaomi being the top selling brand. while Apple fans in Thailand will receive their new iPhones earlier than usual this year. And Malaysia will have new digital banks next year.

It is well known that highways are the lifeblood of metropolitan transportation. To increase the speed of highways and the convenience of road users, Taiwan entrusted Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection (FETC), a subsidiary of the Far Eastern Group, with the operation of the nation's highway electronic toll collection (ETC) system through a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model in 2004. More commonly known as just the "ETC" in Taiwan, the system has weathered through its early difficulties and controversies 17 years ago to become a model to replicate for countries around the globe, says FETC International vice president and chief technology officer, Richard Wu. FETC International is now planning to share its successful ETC model and experience in Taiwan to foreign markets.

Suppliers said demand from Chinese handset vendors is getting opaque in September, portending possible deferral of peak demand and possible decline in suppliers' revenue for the second half of 2021.