International IDMs are set to raise quotes for automotive MCUs in 2022, and their backend partners in Taiwan are all expected to sustain robust backend momentum through 2022-2023 due to long-term capacity consumption commitments by the IDMs, according to industry sources.

The supply of specialty DRAM and NOR flash memory chips will still fall short of demand in 2022, due to supply-side constraints, according to industry sources.

High-tech supply chains are encountering the availabilities of different chips that are in varying degrees. Chips such as display driver ICs (DDI) are no longer in tight supply, prompting suppliers of such chips to cut back wafer starts at foundries, according to industry sources.

Demand for LCD monitors supporting remote working and learning in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic remains strong, but the retail market sees a 20-30% shortage in supply, according to Victor Chien, president for Acer's Digital Display Business.

Ennostar and Taiwan Asia Semiconductor (TAS, formerly Opto Tech) are developing short-wavelength (over 1,000nm) infrared (IR) LED devices for use in biosensing including heart rates, SpO2, blood glucose, and expect such devices to be use in smart wearable devices in 2022, according to industry sources.

China-based panel maker BOE Technology in 2020 established a business unit for developing and producing miniLED fine-pitch displays and microLED displays, while LED chip maker Sanan Optoelectronics has made plans to raise funds of up to CNY7.9 billion (US$1.23 billion) mostly for developing and producing mini/microLED chips.

Malaysia's chip shortages are expected to persist longer even after lockdown were lifted, while Indonesia is looking to start producing electric vehicle (EV) in 2023-24.

Lithium price has been on the rise since 2020, bringing production costs of EV batteries higher. Theoretically, prices of battery cells and battery packs will rise by at least 30%, according to GGII. Battery-grade lithium carbonate price has risen 440% since 2020 to CNY175,000-205,000 (US$27,300-32,000) per tonne as of October 13, 2021. Many material suppliers have seen orders extend to 2022.

MIH has unveiled its Open EV Software Platform that enables automotive developers to create applications with smartphone-like development experience, in close partnership with Arm, Microsoft and Trend Micro.

Demand for education-use Chromebooks has waned significantly in most markets except for the US, but overall Chromebook shipments are expected to maintain a stronger momentum than the entire PC industry as such notebooks are being shifted to other outlets including enterprise users, according to industry sources.

Solder material maker Shenmao Technology in September 2021 began to ship lead-free solder paste used in production of low-earth orbit satellites to be launched by SpaceX, according to industry sources.

Southeast Asia, which has been experiencing rapid economic growth in recent years, has become a popular real estate investment target for foreign investors. With the high housing prices of today and changes to personal finance concepts, the number of renters in various countries is increasing every day. JGB Smart Property is focused on the high demand for long-term housing rentals in Southeast Asia and has developed a comprehensive rental SaaS management platform to provide automated management for real-estate rental companies.

The mobile telecom landscape in India has changed drastically since startup Reliance Jio launched its 4G LTE network services in September 2016 with unprecedented free voice over LTE services and extremely low 4G subscription rates, triggering price competitions that have resulted in a wave of bankruptcies and consolidations among Indian telecom carriers over the past five years.

Dixon Technologies is buying a manufacturing unit from telecom operator Bharti, whose share in the fixed-line broadband market recenly slipped from second to third place in India.

Vietnam expects digital economy to reach 20% of GDP by 2025 and 30% by 2030, prime minister Pham Minh Chinh said at the Digital World 2021 exhibition, cohosted by the government of Vietnam and International Telecommunication Union (ITU), according to Vietnamese-language news outlet Youth Newspaper.