Owing to coronavirus outbreak, China has closed down several cities in early 2020, including Kunshan. Taiwanese Wistron recently announced that over 80% of its 600 suppliers in Kunshan have resumed operations, the Economic Daily News reported on February 26. Of Wistron’s 600 suppliers, 41 are first-tier and 310 are second-tier. As for Advantech, another Taiwanese IT firm with operations in China, production capacity of its factory in Kunshan has also restored by 40%.
Other than Wistron and Advantech, Taiwanese Quanta, Compal, and Inventec are expected to resume work at a faster pace after March this year. A recent survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai reveals that nearly half of surveyed US companies with operations in China claim their global operations have been affected by the closedown of cities, China Daily reported on February 19. However, since Apples restores production capacity at a slower pace than expected, Taiwan’s MIC (Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute) senior industry analyst Eddie Han said that the rollout of a new affordable iPhone in the first quarter of 2020 will likely to be affected.