Huawei is apparently planning on launching a new generation of Mate series of flagship smartphones. The company’s Mate 60 series launch could be right around the corner, so here are all the details.

Huawei’s supply chain begins moving for the Mate 60 production

According to a new report, the Chinese tech giant’s supply chain has begun supplying the company for the production of the next gen flagship series. In other words, the Mate 60 could be announced in the market soon. Notably, the brand announced the P60 lineup of flagship phones earlier this year. So if the Mate 60 series is launching soon, it would appear that the traditional dual flagship launch cycle of Huawei might be returning.

If this report is accurate, the Mate 60 series is expected to launch sometime in the second half of this year. As of right now, finer details regarding the upcoming Mate 60 like its specifications are still unclear. However, it is believed that the Mate 60 will also arrive with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ series processor, although this chip will be lacking the 5G modem. In other words, it could be limited to 4G networking, similar to the P60 series that was announced previously.

The P60 model featured the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, while the higher end P60 Pro and P60 Art variants were powered by the more powerful Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. So we can expect the Mate 60 to possibly arrive with these same chips or maybe even a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 series chipset. Keep in mind that this is still just an unconfirmed report as of right now, so stay tuned for more updates regarding this matter.

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(Via)

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Tensions between China and the USA continue at full speed. This situation negatively affects the diplomatic relations between the two countries and the commercial relations in the region. According to the statements of MediaTek CEO Rick Tsai, political tensions are pushing some manufacturing companies to talk about expanding some of their supply chains beyond Taiwan.

Rick Tsai: Supply chain are gradually leaving Taiwan

Taiwan is one of the leading technology centers in the world. The headquarters of many important companies, such as Asus, MediaTek and TSMC, are located here. In addition, supply manufacturers, which are very important for technology companies, are also located here. This situation contributes to the development of commercial relations in the region and the development of technology in Asian countries.

However, according to MediaTek CEO Rick Tsai, some of the “very large (equipment manufacturers) will require their chip suppliers to have multiple sources, like from Taiwan and from the U.S., or from Germany or from Europe.” Tsai said that if it continues like this, they need to find different sources for the same chip in the future and underlined that the change is not large-scale.

Will MediaTek shift production out of Taiwan?

While MediaTek’s most advanced smartphone chips are manufactured in Taiwan, the company also has overseas plans. Tsai said some of the older chip models were manufactured by GlobalFoundries Inc, which has factories in places like the US and Singapore. The company is pushing to expand its business in the US and wants to increase sales several fold.

MediaTek will also manufacture at Intel’s Ireland and TSMC‘s Arizona facilities. However, these preparations seem more like being ready for the worst than shifting production. Tsai also said it was unrealistic to move away from Taiwan completely, the world’s most important region for advanced chip manufacturing.

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The Huawei chip designing unit, HiSilicon, has just signed a deal with a Chinese firm to strengthen its domestic supply chain. The local partner shared this news in an announcement earlier this week.

According to a NikkeiAsia report, Shenzhen JT Automation Equipment, a Chinese chip production equipment maker, stated that it has signed a five year long MoU (memorandum of understanding) with HiSilicon, China’s largest chip developer. The supplier added that “Huawei’s HiSilicon is stepping up efforts to push to build a domestic chip packaging and testing supply chain.” It further added that “Both parties aim to expand collaboration on semiconductor packaging tool development in a bid to solve the ‘neck-choking’ problem and realize a self-sufficient and controllable industry.”

This statement is likely related to the US sanctions that have disrupted the Chinese tech giant’s supply chain. For those unaware, JT was founded back in 2004 and is an equipment maker that supplies firms in the consumer electronics, automotive electronics, aviation, and even space and defense fields. At the moment, it supplies Gree, China’s largest home appliance maker, Haier, and Flex as one of its major customers.

Notably, the new deal is an effort from Huawei to strengthen its local supply chain and achieve self sufficiency that does not rely on foreign technologies. Its HiSilicon unit designs its proprietary smartphone chips, Kirin, and its other processors are also used in notebooks, servers, vehicles, TVs, and more. Thus, the deal would seek to offset the US sanctions and enable it to better compete in the global market again, especially for consumer electronic products.

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With various companies gearing up to launch their own offerings of laptops, tablets, monitors, and TVs with the new Mini LED backlighting, suppliers have been pushing production capacities to meet the surge in demand. However, this has also led to the rise in the price of conventional LED chips as well.

According to a TrendForce report (Via EETAsia), multiple firms in the LED supply chains had started manufacturing LED chips ahead of time, in the fourth quarter of last year. But despite this, the explosive growth in demand for Mini LED chips has led to crowding in their production capacities that have also affected other mainstream LED chips. Due to this, the global supply chain has been witnessing a shortage of LED chips, which has led to certain suppliers raising the quotes on chips supplied to their non core clients that bring relatively low gross margins.

These price hikes are generally around 5 to 10 percent. Furthermore, the report adds that the companies in the LED supply chain have also begun aggressively procuring components in other to mitigate these upcoming price hikes on raw materials and the shortage of components. This is primarily due to tight production capacities for manufacturers after the Chinese New Year. These shortages have already affected certain serial numbers or specifications. 

TrendForce believes that the structural shortage that is affecting the LED industry is primarily due to the market’s underestimation of production capacity that was necessary for key parts of the supply chain. Thus, suppliers are currently enjoying an increased bargaining power in price negotiations of LED chips due to the rise in material costs and limited material supplies as well.

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It’s been a couple of months since Honor became an independent brand and is no longer a part of Huawei. Since its detachment from the Chinese tech giant, the company has been working towards organizing its supply chain.

A few weeks ago, it was confirmed that Honor is in talks with Qualcomm for chipset supply. Now, as per the latest report coming from China, it seems that both companies are in an agreement where Qualcomm will supply chips for Honor’s upcoming smartphones.

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Honor is no longer a part of Huawei and thus the restrictions imposed on the Chinese giant don’t apply to Honor, paving a path for Qualcomm, as well as other vendors such as MediaTek, to supply components to the newly formed entity.

Recently, it was reported that Honor is planning to produce over 100 million smartphones and has already communicated this goal to its suppliers. A big role in this process will be played by the company’s ability to form partnerships with suppliers and efficiently setting up its supply chain and production.

Apart from that, the company is also working on expanding its presence in the market by setting up new stores in China. It is all set to launch Honor Mall, the company’s official online store, next week. If the reports are to be believed, then the company has several new products up its sleeves, including smartphones, such as the Honor V40 series, as well as Honor SmartScreen Smart TVs.

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China has immense control in the technology world given that it is a necessary piece in the puzzle when it comes to supply chain and manufacturing. With the COVID-19 pandemic, several companies have taken action to diversify production from China to other countries.

Now, it seems to be the time for diversifying the supply chain. As per the report, over 40 percent of Japanese tech companies are shifting their manufacturing base and source of parts supplies from China in an effort to diversify.

The companies include those that the government has recognized as processing sensitive technology linked to security. The move also aims at mitigating security risks associated with the on-going US-China trade war.

The report reveals that in a survey conducted, 42 companies out of 96 that responded have diversified or are considering diversifying their supply chains by moving to India and Southeast Asian countries.

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Additionally, three companies said that they will have to downsize operations or withdraw from China. Eight companies have said that they are thinking about what to do. 26 companies said that they placed restrictions on joint research with partners that could leak technology while six companies have not taken any action.

The report adds that the businesses started taking such action after it was found that many multinational companies made deals with Chinese factories that have been suspected of imposing forced labor on Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China.

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Honor, which was started as a sub-brand of Huawei, recently became an independent company after it was sold off to Zhixin New Information Technology Co. Ltd. Going forward, the company has some ambitious plans.

As per the report from Nikkei Asia, Honor has planned to produce about 100 million smartphone units and the company has already contacted its suppliers in the United States informing the same.

But it remains to be seen if the company manages to produce the required quantity of components as it will likely need to go through the approval process of the United States because of Huawei being put on Entity List.

The company is also working on strengthening its supply chain. Soon after the company became independent, it started talks with Qualcomm for chipsets and both of these companies are in advanced talks and could soon reach a deal. MediaTek is also evaluating legal options to supply chipsets to Honor.

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So far, most of the devices from Honor were powered by the company’s own Kirin chipsets. But that is not possible now as the recent sanctions on Huawei have made it impossible for Kirin to manufacture chipsets.

Whether Honor manages to achieve its goal of making 100 million units in 2021 will be dependent on its ability to procure components. On the other hand, Huawei is expecting to make 60 million units next year.

So, in total, both these companies plan to make 160 million units of smartphones, which is about 20 percent less than what Huawei managed to produce in 2019. Although Huawei was the leading smartphone company globally earlier this year, its market share is declining rapidly because of the sanctions.

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With demand for PCs and smartphones booming across the globe, the tech supply chain has been strained this year. Tech giants are struggling to keep up with demand as their supply chains are working around the clock to deliver.

According to a NikkeiAsia report, companies like Intel, MediaTek, and Realtek have all been asking UMC for more support. UMC is the one that supplies most WiFi and power chips to these chipmaking giants, and is being ‘squeezed’ by rising component demands, as per people close to the matter. As per one source, “Most of the time we are begging for more chip orders and chip developers are asking for price cuts. But this time even if they were willing to pay more, we do not have much additional capacity to support them.”

For those unaware, the boom in the PC market and smartphone industry arrives amid the coronavirus pandemic. The viral outbreak disrupted supply chain across the globe as demand for workstations grew worldwide due to shifting professional or even educational norms. Currently, work from home or remote working has become increasingly more common while education has shifted to the digital realm as well, which has caused a sudden rise in demand for laptops, PCs, and other large screened devices.

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Another source added that, “The PC industry has seen unprecedented demand this year, driving record demand for Intel Wi-Fi products. We’re constantly working with our supply chain to ensure that we can support our customers.” Furthermore, both MediaTek and Realtek stated that they were working with their respective production partners to help with the component shortages issues.

The surge in orders with UMC, which is the the world’s fourth largest contract chipmaker by revenue, includes major clients like Qualcomm and Sony. However, this is still not as notable as TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.), where most of the chipmakers go for a majority of their production. At the moment, TSMC is fully booked toward the third quarter of 2021, as per sources familiar with the matter.

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Huawei is apparently focusing on 4G smartphones again. A new report suggests that the company is planning on restarting 4G handset production and has begun placing orders with its suppliers for related components.

A source from the Chinese tech giant revealed this information, as per a Yicai report. Apparently, Huawei is stocking up on components for 4G smartphones at the moment and “Currently, small batches of rolling orders are placed, and there is no way to estimate the specific order volume.”

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The source also stated that at the pace of market order shipments, the first finished smartphones are expected to hit the market in the first half of next year, with the earliest being within the first quarter of 2021. Notably, the source added that some of the component makers within Huawei’s supply chain will be receiving a notice from the company stating that they will resume purchasing motherboard and other components products this month.

Interestingly, this would be in line with our previous reports as Qualcomm was recently given the green light to supply the company with mobile processors. Although, the chip maker would only be able to supply Huawei with 4G chips and not 5G SoC. Unfortunately, Huawei has yet to respond to this matter. So, we have no means of confirming the report at the moment and will have to wait for an official company announcement to know for sure.

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Major smartphone brands have a list suppliers that enables them to procure the components required to build their products for the market. However, in recent times the increased competition in these supply chains might be driving them out. Now, a couple of Samsung suppliers are also looking to branch out to other ventures to reduce their reliance on smartphones.

As the smartphone market matures, the competition between the suppliers is increasing. This makes profitability difficult as well, and force these firms to also look for a new source of revenue, as per TheElec report. An example of this is Mcnex, which is looking to supply automobiles with camera modules. At the moment, it supplies cameras to Hyundai Motor Group. The company is currently reliant on smartphones that account for 90 percent of its sales, but is expecting an increase in demand from automobiles in the near future.

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Back in 2018, these automotive camera modules accounted for 15.1 percent of its sales. This dropped to 9.2 percent in 2019, but has since gone up to 10.6 percent in the third quarter of 2020. Similarly, Powerlogics, which is another camera module supplier, is also working with Hyundai to recycle batteries. Its reliance on smartphones is also 82.9 percent as of last year. Although, it is looking to increase its shipments of protective circuit for batteries.

Other Samsung suppliers include DAP and Korea Cicuits, both of which supplied on motherboards for smartphones, that are now shifting towards the automobile industry as well. The former is supplying boards to Hyundai Mobis, which are then made for radar for Hyundai Motor Group. The list of suppliers looking to diversify away from smartphones continues and may soon have other notable suppliers make the shift as well.

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Apple’s newly launched iPhone 12 series have become the hot-selling devices in the market. Given the increased demand for smartphones, the company has reportedly increased production orders by 2 million.

But, as per the report from Bloomberg, the company is also facing a supply chain problem. It indicates that Apple is struggling with a shortage of necessary chips for power consumption management on the iPhone.

The report further adds that because of this shortage of power chips, the company may not be able to meet the demand for the iPhone 12 models. But it is not yet clear how much impact this will have in terms of sales in this quarter.

It is believed that the reason behind the shortage is the supply chain disruption because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, as revealed by TSMC, 5G smartphones require around 30-40% more chip content than 4G, further complicating the process.

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The Cupertino-based tech giant sources power management chips from multiple companies. For the iPhone 12 Pro, it uses components from Texas Instruments for controlling power to the camera module and a similar chip from STMicroelectronics NV and Qualcomm for the 5G modem.

An estimate released by Cinda Securities projects that the demand for the iPhone 12 series will likely reach 80-85 million units. It is also estimated that Apple will likely ship around 230-240 million units of the iPhone 12 models in 2021. If this happens, the iPhone 12 series will emerge as the US company’s best-selling phones ever. Currently, that record is held by the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus with an estimated shipment of 224 million units.

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Earlier this week, Huawei stated that its procurement from Japanese suppliers grew by more than 50 percent from last year. This likely occurred due to recent sanctions that the US has employed to restrict the Chinese tech giant’s supply chain, as per a Nikkei report.

Jeff Wang, Chairman of Huawei Japan, said that the rise in sourcing from the region arrived due to Japan’s “extremely important role in global supply chains.” At the moment, the company has had its relations with its suppliers strained and tested after the US further added trade restrictions on Huawei, to close any loopholes in the previous sanctions.

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Wang refrained from mentioning the issues the company is facing with the US in the online conference. However, another executive stated that “We have procured from Japan since 2018, so I believe there will be no major impact.” This seems like a watered-down rhetoric in front of the actual gravity of the situation, as we had previously reported on Huawei currently being in a ‘Survival mode’.

The senior executive further stated the company has bought in roughly 1.1 trillion yen (roughly 10.3 billion US Dollars) worth of components already from Japanese companies, which is a significant rise from 721 billion yen from back in 2018. Huawei had first set up in Japan back in 2005 and is now heavily procuring components from the region, along with Taiwan and South Korea as well.

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Apple is working on building a local supply ecosystem in China for iPhones sold strictly in that region. A new DigiTimes report stated that the company is looking to add more China based manufacturers for the local market.

One such manufacturer includes Luxshare, which has already set up manufacturing plants in China from Taiwan’s Wistron. Another Chinese firm is Lens Technology, who is sourcing metal chassis plants from Taiwan as well, to expand the iPhone’s presence. Furthermore, the Cupertino based giant is also continuing to add more Chinese suppliers to source its iPhones.

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For those unaware, Luxshare is already a part of Apple’s supply chain for the popular AirPods. Although now, it has become a bigger partner in the smartphone maker’s product ecosystem. So far, Apple has mostly employed Taiwanese firms in this position that have dominated its supply chain, but this might shuffle up the sourcing structure in Asia. Notably, India has also become a site for iPhone 11 production, marking the first time Apple is producing a flagship device outside of China.

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A fresh report has revealed that Huawei Technologies is delaying the production of its flagship smartphones for 2020. The move arrives after the Chinese tech giant was hit with recent US sanctions, which caused it to lose its mobile chip supply from contract chipmaker, TSMC.

According to sources, Huawei has told its suppliers to delay production of the upcoming flagship models as the company weighs potential supply chain disruption following the new restrictions from the US. Reportedly, Huawei has asked for production halts for some of the components for the upcoming Huawei Mate 40 series. Furthermore, the company has also trimmed orders for certain parts in the next quarter.

At the moment, the Chinese smartphone vendor is assessing the impacts on its smartphone business after the new regulations were put in place. Following its annual schedule, Huawei usually launches the latest Mate series of premium grade handsets in the second half of the year. This period is generally packed with notable launches, such as Apple’s latest iPhone series and more.

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For those unaware, Huawei smartphones mostly feature the company’s proprietary Kirin processor from its subsidiary chip designer, HiSilicon. However, while Huawei designs its own chips, these are produced by TSMC. Thus, with the loss of its primary chip supplier, the company is reassessing the situation, looking into alternatives, and even investing in local semiconductor firms, with plans in the longer run.

According to a source, “We now see the postponement of the mass production of Mate series will be for at least one to two months.” In other words, Huawei is still finalizing and resolving issues within its supply chain, and also reviewings its stock of existing chips. An executive of a Huawei supplier stated that, “One of the reasons to pause is that Huawei is reviewing the inventory level of its HiSilicon mobile chips and is busy verifying other mobile platforms by MediaTek and Qualcomm. But verifying other mobile platforms could lead to redesigns of the mechanical parts of the smartphones, which will take time.”

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The recent US sanctions against Huawei Technologies might have a far reaching impact on the entire US tech industry as a whole. While the Chinese company has lost its chip supply from TSMC, US based companies fear that this move from the Government might end up scaring away its customers.

Back in 2019, Huawei had faced a trade ban by the US Commerce Department. This move caused the Chinese tech giant to lose billions of dollars in revenue. Moving forward by a year, the situation has still not gotten any better with recent sanctions restricting the company’s supply as well. But now, this move may create a bigger gap between the US and Chinese supply chains.

According to an executive of a California-based semiconductor company, “securing new clients in China, or even in Asia, could be more challenging from now on as prospective clients would think twice before they buy American equipment or technologies like ours.” The Chinese market accounted for more than 60 percent of the global semiconductor consumption in 2019. So, the shift away from the US suppliers could potentially hard domestic businesses in America.

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The executive also added that despite the California based company does not directly supply Huawei, “a lot of Chinese tech companies, those buying from us included, have some sorts of relationships with Huawei. There is no way to know whether what we sell to a non-Huawei company will not eventually become part of a Huawei product.” In other words, the US products may eventually be reaching the blacklisted Chinese company.

This translates to potential complications with the US government since the new sanctions dictate that a special license must be obtained to provide products to blacklisted companies. Thus, the unclear nature of the entire transaction and trade could harm the US based companies if their technology is found being used by companies like Huawei later on.

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Huawei is apparently struggling with its process to shift crucial parts of its production to China. According to a new report, a few of its suppliers are reluctant to shift operations, especially with uncertainty clouding the semiconductor industry.

The Chinese tech giant has been actively working to get more of its supply chains into China. This arrives after the company faces increasing scrutiny from the US government, which recently cut off its smartphones’ chip supply from TSMC. The shift would, therefore, ease its process of sourcing and help keep US pressure away, although, the same idea might not be welcomed by a few of its key suppliers.

At the moment, one of the most important supply aspect Huawei is focusing on is its chip supply, with the chip packaging and testing being the last step in manufacturing semiconductor components. In other words, the company wanted its chip suppliers to shift the base of operations to China to avoid future US sanctions against it. Furthermore, Huawei is also bringing on board second tier domestic suppliers to boost localization efforts to develop the semiconductor industry in China.

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Notably, the company is only accepting new suppliers if their production sites are in China. Unfortunately, this shift may be easier said than done due to various key factors. The Coronavirus pandemic is one such important reason, since avoiding bold moves at this point, and building a strong base is a safer move for suppliers. Similarly, the shift may also involve certain geopolitical risks as well.

According to a source, “the global pandemic which already hit demand as well as the U.S. strong hostility against Huawei have weakened suppliers’ incentive to swiftly address the Chinese company’s push.” Additionally, “there are suppliers who also need to address their U.S. semiconductor clients’ requests to produce outside of China over security reasons, so they chose not to expand their Chinese capacity.” So, while the move would be beneficial for Huawei, the process is complex and could negatively impact the suppliers.

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According to a new rumor, Huawei is preparing for the prolonged disputes between the US and China and is currently in works to replace US equipment. The Chinese tech giant recently lost its chip supply from TSMC due to US sanctions and is now, reportedly, looking into alternatives from South Korea.

Sources close to the matter revealed that Huawei is investigating whether or not to use US technologies against partners in its supply chain. For those unaware, the US had enforced sanctions which targetted US based technology that was being used by foreign companies like TSMC, this essentially had Huawei’s supply cut off. So in simpler terms, the smartphone vendor is checking to confirm whether US technology was actually used in their semiconductor equipment.

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Furthermore, Huawei is also visiting various semiconductor based companies in South Korea. These manufacturers could potentially serve as alternatives within its supply chain, although, the details of these visitations are currently unknown. However, the timing is quite suggestive of talks already taking place for a new deal.

At the moment, Huawei already has a massive inventory of chips that will last for up to 2 years. But the company is also heavily investing in the semiconductor industry, even encouraging Chinese companies to step up and rival the US. The semiconductor field is integral to Huawei’s product and service offerings, so while the US sanctions do hamper its operations, the company is actively working on working through the issue.

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A new report has suggested that Japan is planning on attracting known semiconductor makers, TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) and Intel. The government is expected to start an investigation to look into future prospects to bring the major chipmakers to their country.

This endeavor is being undertaken by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. The move from the Japanese government arrives after the effects of the coronavirus have become more apparent. Recently, many economies, especially in the west, are prioritizing foreign capitalized takeovers to provide a safeguard for local companies. Thus, Japan seeks to do the same by launching a foreign investment attraction project.

To explain in simpler terms, the government aim to bring back Japan based multinational corporations back to its country and then attract foreign investor through these large scale firms. One such example is Canon, which is a known Japanese MNC that deals in imaging and optical products like cameras and more. At the moment, there are rumors that indicate that Canon will be withdrawing from China.

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While various Chinese publications have sought out a response from Canon regarding the report, the company has yet to respond to such claims. Back in April 2020, the Domestic investment promotion project subsidy for supply chain measures was established with 220 Billion Yen (roughly 2 Billion US Dollars). This new budget was established in the wake of the viral outbreak to act as an emergency fund during the economic crisis.

According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the budget will be responsible for rebuilding the domestic supply chains that have since become vulnerable due to COVID-19. In other words, facilitate rehabilitation to bring Japanese based companies and their production back to the country and, by its extension, increase the foreign investment as well. This move will essentially “remove China from the supply chain.”

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In a recent interview, Ren Zhengfei, the founder and CEO of Huawei Technologies, revealed that the company had spent more than 132 billion Yuan (roughly 18.7 billion US Dollars) on US parts for its smartphones and is not looking to find replacements yet.

Huawei has been caught in the middle of the trade wars between China and the US. The company was placed on the “Entity List” last year and had even lost support from Google. Despite all of this, the Chinese tech giant has been steadfast about its sourcing, with the senior executive stating that the company will not look for replacements. According to Zhengfei, Huawei has spent 18 billion US Dollars in 2019, which is a large increase from just 11 billion US dollars before that.

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Yesterday, we had covered similar statements that Ren had mentioned in the interview. The CEO emphasized greatly on maintaining a friendly relationship with its foreign supply chains, especially from the US, and believes that America “will always be our good friend.” Furthermore, Another senior official had also revealed that alternatives were available but they continue with US parts “to maintain good relationships with its American suppliers.”

Interestingly, Ren Zhengfei stated that “The proposal of a few US politicians does not fully represent the opinion of the US government. Many US companies have been approved by the US Department of Commerce to supply us with spare parts.” Thus, the Founder believes that there is no pressuring reason to shift sourcing from the region in favor of other countries or even it’s home country. The recently launched flagship Huawei P40 series serves as a great example as the internals did arrive with a few but the important US made parts from Qualcomm, Skyworks, Qorvo, and more.

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The coronavirus outbreak which began from China and now become a global epidemic with more than 50 countries being affected. While many companies have been affected because of closing down of production facilities in China, South Korea is also no exemption.

As per the report, South Korea is currently facing a supply chain chaos which has not been seen for years. The outspread of coronavirus in South Korea has cause major problems across industries, including manufacturing, shipping, ports and shipyards.

South Korea has raised its alert status to the highest level after it became the most coronavirus-hit country outside of China with the total number of infected people now standing at more than 5,200.

An official at the Korea Shipping Association has said that the supply chain disruptions brought by the outbreak of coronavirus would be “unprecedented” if more manufacturers decide to suspend operations.

Hyundai says that the shipyard has taken several measures for epidemic prevention and control. Another two major shipyards — Samsung Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) are in discussions with authorities for possible solutions to minimise the damages.

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Samsung Electronics, one of the largest companies from South Korea, has already shut down one of its mobile device factories in the country after a worker was tested positive for the coronavirus.

On the other hand, LG has also temporarily closed down its Innotek factory that supplies iPhone camera modules in Gumi. Hyundai Motor has also suspended production at one of its factories in Ulsan citing the virus.

The report also states that the South Korean government is proposing an extra budget of KRW11.7trn (approximately $9.8 billion) to revitalise the economy amid the outbreak of coronavirus. The extra budget bill will be submitted to the National Assembly for approval on Thursday, and is said to be the country’s largest-ever supplementary budget bill.

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Recently, China was hit with a major epidemic after a new strain of Coronavirus spread in the country. It originated from the Wuhan district and is known to cause pneumonia. The infection is highly contagious and has been a cause for global alarm. This has now apparently led to smartphone brands like Xiaomi, Apple, and Realme to suffer from a shortage in supply.

Previously, the Chinese government issued a closure of many factories in order to prevent further infections. The move was undertaken in order to curb the infection in areas with a high number of workers. But this has led to a shortage of supply units for smartphones for various brands, especially the ones that have recently launched or have an important launch coming up.

Xiaomi, Realme, and TCL are a few of the local manufacturers that have taken a hit but Apple is reported to be one of the worst affected. The Cupertino based giant was observing higher than normal sales of its latest iPhone 11 series, but the viral outbreak has seemingly crippled its supply chain. This extends to the company’s Apple Watch series as well.

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Furthermore, it has been reported that Xiaomi and TCL have been facing a significant shortage in supply for their respective TV models. And since Xiaomi is not limited to any one electronic product, it is also facing issues in its air conditioning department as well. Similarly, Realme is also currently facing the troubles with supply after its latest handset models like the Realme C3 and 5i’s production being affected.

As of right now, most of the aforementioned brands have restarted production again in China. Although the capacity at which they are functioning is still around 35-50%. Additionally, some of the components during this period have also gone up in price, causing OEMs to either absorb or hike prices of their products as well. The problem is more pervasive than previously thought out to be as both online and offline retailers are stockpiling products fearing further disruption in the supply chain.

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City of Wuhan in Central China’s Hubei Province remains under quarantine because of the coronavirus outbreak. Despite this, chipmakers Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) and its 12-inch foundry subsidiary Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor Manufacturing (XMC) claims to have been unaffected in terms of production and shipments.

The companies say that the deliveries of their chip remains normal despite coronavirus outbreak in their locality. The company’s spokesperson has said that it is maintaining normal production and operations, and its raw material supplies and shipments are also running smoothly.

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YMTC says that it has undertaken a number of scientific preventive measures to ensure that its employees remain safe. The measures taken by the company include publicising quarantine procedures, offering medical masks, temperature checks, enhanced disinfecting, and remote meetings.

There are numerous reports claiming that the production and supply chain of several smartphones in the China could get hit amid coronavirus outbreak. Recently, it was reported that supply chain of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S20 lineup could be affected. Prior to that, it was said that production of the upcoming Apple iPhone 9 as well as AirPods might face issues but Foxconn claimed that everything is working smoothly.

Apart from coronavirus outbreak and the extended Chinese New Year holidays, the Chinese government has officially extended the holiday season as a way to battle the spread of infection. Thus, a lot of factories have already suspended operations and will stay out-of-business for a while.

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