The government would requisition 8 million masks daily to ensure that the nation has sufficient supplies after a ban on mask exports is lifted on Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) said yesterday.
“We have decided to lower the requirement from 12 million units to 8 million units per day, providing them [local mask suppliers] with 4 million more masks to sell freely according to market mechanisms,” Shen told reporters after a meeting with domestic mask manufacturers.
The figure was determined based on local market demand, Shen said, pointing to declining mask purchases as Taiwan gets its COVID-19 outbreak under control.
Photo: Huang Pei-chun, Taipei Times
However, “if the Central Epidemic Command Center’s [CECC] mask inventory falls below 100 million units, we would raise the requirement back to 12 million units [per day] for mask manufacturers,” Shen said.
The CECC’s mask inventory stands at between 200 million and 300 million units.
The mask rationing system, which limits mask purchases for each adult to nine masks every two weeks at a fixed price of NT$5 per mask, would remain in place, it said.
“This is the perfect timing ... companies can now vie for a share of overseas markets,” Shen said, adding that the Ministry of Economic Affairs would help with quality control to maintain the reputation of masks made in Taiwan.
Local firms are expected to sell and export 7 million to 8 million masks per day from next week, the ministry said.
While daily surgical mask production in Taiwan totals 20 million units, the number is expected to decline by 5 million units daily after the military withdraws its workforce from the production lines.
Since the beginning of the outbreak, the government has provided mask manufacturers with military personnel to help ramp up production to alleviate a shortage of masks in the domestic market.
Seeking to maintain the local mask supply at a healthy level, the government would continue to fix the price of essential raw materials used in their production, such as melt-blown mask filters, Shen said.
“We would help stabilize the price and ensure the quantity,” he said, adding that 8 million masks use up about 11 tonnes of melt-blown filters.
Regarding the local production of N95 respirators, Shen said the government would still requisition about 100,000 units per day from four local firms.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
RSS