The value of the global activewear market was estimated at $353.5 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a 3.7% CAGR over the next six years, reaching $439.17 billion by 2026, according to investment firm Comprar Acciones. The activewear industry has always been very competitive; staying innovative is key to differentiation.
Hiring employees from many different countries can be a long process of legal and accounting counseling and can keep businesses from accessing foreign markets sound and fast. Singapore-based HR tech startup Slasify offers solutions to legal compliance and payroll transfers. In an interview with DIGITIMES, Slasify CEO Carlos Wang and SparkLabs Taipei managing partner Edgar Chiu are sharing what they see in the HR tech industry.
Times have changed. In the past PC brands had all the say with emphasis on white-collar business opportunity. However, after the surging demand of handsets in 2000, the Chinese market has become increasingly important. How to define the needs of the Chinese handset market and even keep an eye on the upstream supply chain have posed a formidable challenge for many world-class consulting companies. In the early days of China's economy opening-up, all privatized state-owned enterprises sought out endorsements from world-class consulting companies. Although the same logic should apply everywhere, Chinese state-owned enterprises may not have really understood the strategic recommendations of consulting companies. But the endorsements from well-known consulting companies would provide them with a springboard to promote privatization in China. It is indeed a lucrative business for the consulting companies worldwide. But they are dedicated to local market research and corporate projects, rather than supply chain research.
Chip shortages have been troubling many vendors, including Apple, whose much anticipated miniLED-backlit MacBook Pro series may be unveiled later than expected. The electric vehicle market looks so promising that many companies are eager to have a share, including Chinese handset vendor Xiaomi, which has just set up an EV business. LCD TV panel prices had soared for months until recently, and they are expected keep falling till year-end 2021.
Climate change is changing many aspects of our everyday life. Transportation is one of them. Seeing the boom of e-bikes and the opportunities of green mobility, Marcel Yang, Giant Bicycles' special assistant to CEO, mentioned that Giant is creating an economic ecosystem in the cycling industry where all the partners can work closely together. He also shared his experience in driving innovations in this bike manufacturing company.
Industry analysts can encounter dramatically different ecology in different industries at different stages. But no matter what you do, defining problems matters more than solving them.
Although fab toolmakers may see TSMC bargain down prices for their supplies, they remain optimistic that strong orders from the top foundry house will continue to drive their sales of semiconductor equipment. In the backend sector, ASE and PTI have both geared up their efforts for panel-level packaging. Taiwanese makers stand a good chance of playing a significant role in the space industry, but they have to act fast, according to Infinio Capital managing partner Eric Lin.
A good analyst needs to know something that no one else does, such as sources of special information or expert opinions, and understands how to provide information to the right people in the most efficient way. The capability to get hold of a vast amount of data and analyze it with the most effective tools is the key to success for industry analysts in the Internet age. But it is more crucial to define the function and value of various data and transmit them to the right person at the right time and right place.
The southeast Asian region has become another innovation hub in the world. With a valuation of US$340 billion in 2020, the region attracts many venture capital firms and startups to innovate the local economies. Rachel Lau, managing partner at RHL Ventures, a Malaysian private investment firm that focuses on growth capital investments in Southeast Asia and the US, shares her insights on the latest innovation trends, brought by major startups in Southeast Asia.
Having just decided to raise its foundry service quotes starting as early as December, TSMC is now seeking to cut its production costs by asking suppliers to lower their prices, in order to maintain its profitability. The foundry has also launched a new packaging technology for silicon photonic ASICs targeting the datacenter market segment. DRAM spot prices have been falling fast amid weakening overall demand, which is heaping pressure on contract pricing.
AI speech recognition algorithm companies in China are crossing into the development of AI chips to further solidify their foothold in the market. Doing so will give the companies the ability to optimize algorithm and chip integration.
Analytics is essentially different from analysis: Analysis is work that analyzes things based on historical data; analytics is a forward-looking inference from given data.
Rising production costs are heaping pressure on device prices in the end market. Notebook prices are expected to rise in the second half of 2021. But EMS provider Qisda is warning that rising foundry and IC prices are threatening to deter demand in the end market. There have been mixed messages about the outlook the memory sector, but NAND flash controller prices are still expected to rise in foruth-quarter 2021.
