'Vietnam+1' production emerges as new priority for tech suppliers

Taiwanese tech suppliers who have built production capacity in Vietnam as part of their supply chain diversification strategies are now facing growing requests from clients for "Vietnam+1" options ahead of Donald Trump's return as U.S. president.

China+1 and Taiwan+1 refer to suppliers building production capacity outside of these two hubs to reduce geopolitical risks stemming from tensions between the U.S. and China as well as across the Taiwan Strait.

Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, as well as India and Mexico have been major beneficiaries of this push to develop new supply chain ecosystems outside of China and Taiwan in recent years. After the U.S. presidential election, Taitra conducted a survey of more than 2,500 chairmen and CEOs of Taiwanese companies across industries and found that nearly 66% of them considered geopolitics a key operational risk, while around 60% said the U.S. will be an important market to develop.

However, only 5% said they are planning to invest in America, compared to almost 90% who said they do not have plans to do so. Around 40% said they have not studied geopolitics and the economy.

Reference Sources

1. nikkei - 'Vietnam+1' production emerges as new priority for tech suppliers

Waymo dominated U.S. robotaxi market in 2024, but Tesla and Amazon's Zoox loom

Alphabet-owned Waymo, a major US player in the autonomous vehicle industry, saw glimmers of mainstream adoption and made strides toward commercial viability in 2024.

Waymo may have outlasted Cruise and Argo.AI to lead the US market, but domestic competitors are working to catch up, most notably Elon musk's automaker Tesla and Amazon-Owned Zoox. At stake is a share of a massive market for ride-hailing services in and beyond the US.

According to research by Fortune business insights, the global ride-sharing market is projected to grow from an estimated $123.08 billion in 2024 to $480.09 billion by 2032.

Reference Sources

1. cnbc - Waymo dominated U.S. robotaxi market in 2024, but Tesla and Amazon's Zoox loom

Worldbank raises China estimate for the size of its economy in 2023

The World Bank has lifted its growth forecasts for China's economy in 2024 and 2025 to account for the effect of recent policy easing and near-term export strength. That is up from June forecasts of 4.8% and is just shy of Beijing's own 5% growth target. the world's Second-Biggest economy has struggled this year, as it continues to feel the effects of a multiyear property crisis and weak domestic demand.

Kang Yi, the head of the National Bureau of Statistics, made the remarks at a press conference in Beijing, the capital, adding that the Bureau would publish further details of the revision on its website in the next few days.

The World Bank has revised upwards its 2023 gross domestic product (GDP) by 2.7% to CNY129.4Tn ($17.73Tn), while releasing the fifth National Economic Census. Policy support late this year has set China's economy on track to hit a growth target of "around 5%" as activity warmed slightly, but challenges such as potential US tariff hikes still weigh on prospects for next year.

Reference Sources

1. thejakartapost - TheJakartaPost
2. cna - World Bank raises China's GDP forecast for 2024, 2025
3. theguardian - World Bank lifts China growth forecasts but calls for deeper reforms
4. thestarmy - World bank raises China's GDP forecast for 2024, 2025
5. washingtontimes - China raises its estimate for the size of its economy in 2023

The CommonWealth English daily news digest is a service curated by CommonWealth English team with the help of AI tools.

Have you read?

• Daily News Digest: Japan's Nuclear Comeback
• Daily News Digest: Digital Health Faces Wall Street Reckoning
• Daily News Digest: Apple Races Toward $4T Valuation

Uploaded by Ian Huang