Taiwan's central bank sharply raised its 2026 GDP forecast to 7.28%, citing substantial capex from international cloud service providers and aggressive investment expansion by domestic manufacturers as the main engines sustaining the economy. The Ministry of Economic Affairs reported strong early-year export order growth that supports the outlook.
At its GTC 2026 conference, Nvidia showcased a slate of technologies and new products squarely aimed at the next wave of artificial intelligence inference. With the integration of Groq's LPU technology, Nvidia's portfolio appears markedly more competitive on the inference side — widely seen as a strategic effort to defend its market share and discourage customers from turning to application-specific integrated circuits, or ASICs.
Computex 2026, set to take place in June, has once again invited Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon as the opening keynote speaker. In recent years, Qualcomm has stepped up its efforts at Computex to promote its AI PC business, with Cristiano Amon becoming a regular presence in keynote sessions.
Apple CEO Tim Cook struck a conciliatory tone at the China Development Forum, praising Chinese developers and manufacturing capabilities while emphasizing shared goals in innovation and sustainability, just days after renewed state media criticism of Apple's App Store practices, according to Bloomberg.
Industrial computer (IPC) maker IEI Integration held an investor briefing on March 18, during which IEI president Jordan Jiang stated that several projects the company has been developing in the networking sector will begin shipping in phases in 2026, becoming the primary driver of revenue growth for the year.
Niche copper-clad laminate (CCL) manufacturer Ventec expects to achieve double-digit revenue growth in 2026, driven by ongoing product price increases and strategic expansion into specialized markets such as defense aerospace and semiconductor test interfaces. Currently, special materials account for 50% of its revenue, positioning the company for what it predicts will be a robust order fulfillment phase.
The global PCB industry continues to deepen its Southeast Asia footprint. Among the latest moves, Allied Circuit (ACCL) and Japanese firm Meiko have recently announced a joint venture to build a new factory in Vietnam focused on high-layer count (HLC) PCB capacity. The plant is expected to enter mass production by the second quarter of 2027, prioritizing the AI server PCB market opportunity.
Netronix said it expects revenue and profits to continue to climb into 2026 after peaking in 2025, driven by e-book readers, digital advertising displays, and contributions from subsidiaries. The company forecast continued shipment growth and double-digit revenue gains next year.
Apple will cut App Store commissions in China from March 15, lowering the standard rate from 30% to 25% and discounted tiers for small developers and selected programs from 15% to 12%. The move marks a rare adjustment to a core revenue model and signals a new phase in the global "Apple tax" debate.
Following earlier price increases for tantalum capacitors and inductors, the aluminum capacitor supply chain is now seeing further price adjustments. Taiwanese manufacturers say end-market demand remains strong only in the AI sector, while upstream raw material prices — metals in particular — continue to climb, nearing a critical cost threshold for suppliers. The passive components industry's "cost defense battle" has now spread from inductors and chip resistors to aluminum capacitors.
Tai-Saw Technology's differential oscillators are entering GPU module and AI server supply chains, potentially reshaping global networking hardware availability. With 400G shipments already underway and 800G mass production targeted for late 2026, the move carries implications for data center upgrade cycles, high-speed communications deployment, and component sourcing for manufacturers and partners worldwide.
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