END IN SIGHT: Founding chairman Miin Wu said that a resolution to the US-China trade war would first benefit consumer electronics, followed later by smartphones

Taipei Times
Date:\ Mar 30, 2019
By: Lisa Wang  /  Staff reporter

Macronix International Co Ltd (旺宏電子) expects consumer demand to start picking up in the second half of this year amid increasing signs of easing tensions between the US and China, a company executive said yesterday.

As the world’s two biggest economies resumed trade talks this week in an attempt to resolve their trade disputes, the memorychip maker believes that a deal is starting to take shape, which would eventually lead to the cancelation of punishing tariffs and the removal of trade barriers, Macronix founding chairman Miin Wu (吳敏求) said.

As long as the trade war settles, “almost all businesses will return to normal as the uncertainty vanishes,” although the strength of the recovery remains to be seen, Wu said.

Consumer electronics would be the early beneficiary from the recovery of consumer confidence, while smartphone demand should bounce back in the second half of this year, he said.    [FULL  STORY]