High-frequency and high-speed copper foil materials demand will be ramping up in the second half of 2021, thanks to replacement demand for servers adopting Intel's new Whitley server processors, according to industry sources.

Rising specialty DRAM and NOR flash memory prices are set to boost net profits at Winbond Electronics in the second quarter of 2021, which are likely to more than double those generated in the prior quarter, according to market sources.

Taiwan's ICT supply chain, especially semiconductor backend houses have seen rising COVID-19 infections among their workers. Around 180 employees of KYEC has been ordered to undergo a 14-day paid quarantine as of June 5. However, MediaTek is still optimistic about its sales for the second quarter, despite KYEC, a major backend services partner of the chip supplier, had closure of production lines for two days. MediaTek is working closely with KYEC to mitigate the impact. On the other hand, demand for miniLED backlighting boards has been picking up as miniLED-based gaming and creator notebooks have seen rising sales.

Barring the shortages of IC chips, Asustek is likely to ramp up the shipments of its gaming monitors to three million units in 2021 compared to two million shipped a year earlier.

HannStar Display will start rolling out LPRD (low power reflective display) panels in 2021, targeting applications for smart retailing, education, transportation, fitness, and environmental protection, according to company sources.

Osram Opto Semiconductors reportedly will become a new supplier of miniLED for backlighting Apple's new MacBook Pro lineup slated for launch in the second half of 2021, according to industry sources.

Foxconn Technology Group (Hon Hai) will form a joint venture with PTT, Thailand's majority state-owned oil and gas company, in the second half of 2021 as part of their memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed for cooperative production of electric vehicles (EV) in the Southeast Asian country.

Rising popularity of electric vehicles (EV) has grabbed global attention. Poised to replace internal combustion engines, EVs are considered the new trend in the era of sustainability. A storm of competition ignited by Tesla, is brewing in the EV market, with traditional US and European automakers are pushing into in-house battery development and manufacturing with an aim to secure bigger cost advantages in the coming decades.

As electric vehicle (EV) development becomes a global effort, batteries that play a vital role to EVs' cost-performance ratios are a focus to manufacturers with ambitions to expand in the EV market. Both traditional and new automakers have considered battery technology development and production capacity to be importance to their overall planning. Automakers across Europe, America, Japan, Korea and China are actively engaging in battery solution research and production line build-up.

With parts of government budgets and resources for space development to be given to companies in Taiwan's ICT industry after the passing of Space Development Law, development of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite equipment, where ICT makers having the most experience in, looks promising.

Inventec has devoted efforts to the development of AI solutions particularly for the smart manufacturing industry.

While Southeast Asia is the most popular investment destination for electronics manufacturers seeking to diversify production, Vietnam seems to be the biggest beneficiary of the so-called "China+1" strategy - running production in China and other places at the same time.

Taiwan's National Communications Commission (NCC) will appropriate NT$26.6 billion (US$957.6 million) to help local telecom operators shorten the construction of their 5G networks to three years instead of five years set previously, according to sources familiar with the plans.

Shipments of TWS (true wireless stereo) devices in the Indian market remained strong in first-quarter 2021 with local brands having a major share, according to Counterpoint Research.

China-based handset brand Realme reportedly aims to sell 100 million 5G smartphones in the next three years, according to industry sources.