As of September 7, Linda Jackson for ‘ourtopnews’ reported that TSMC has instituted huge hikes on processor prices which vary from 3% (Apple) to 20% in some cases.

Companies like MediaTek will be particularly hit hard. A Taiwanese peer headquartered in Hsinchu, MediaTek became the biggest smartphone chipset vendor with 31% market share in Q3 2020. It’s chips are strong performers in regions like China and India and many entry level and mid-priced smartphones carry their chips in the African markets.

Last week the ‘Gadgetstripe’ website announced TECNO will feature MediaTek’s Helio G96 chipset in its CAMON 18 series to launch in Nigeria next month.

For Bloomberg in March of this year, Debby Wu, Ian King and Alan Crawford reported that manufacturers with products ranging from automotive to games consoles have had to cut back on production due to semiconductor scarcity.

It is hard for customers like MediaTek to do anything except swallow this hike.

This raises the question could this be the right time for a Nigeria based manufacturer to enter the frey?

The price of semi or technically skilled labour in Taiwan has increased tenfold since 1979. Most of East Coast Asia and Asia Pacific countries (including China) have seen dramatic rises in labour costs and Taiwan’s labour costs have shown the most dramatic increases of the region.

TSMC is the undisputed king of making the lowest manufacturing die sizes at any point in time, and therefore the fastest performing chips.

The smaller the die size, the tighter the tolerance levels on ‘nano-measurements’ and therefore the higher level of precision required to avoid the incidence of faulty chips.

TSMC’s current 5nm is in its second year in the marketplace. It features a transistor density of around 170 million transistors per square millimeter (MTr/mm2), making it the densest technology available today. By contrast, Samsung’s Foundry’s 5LPE can boast with about 125 MTr/mm2 ~130 MTr/mm2, whereas Intel’s 10 nm features an approximately 100 MTr/mm2 density – (Technosports.in)

They are on track to achieve 4nm and then 3nm technology at milestones next year, and 2nm by 2023.

In an attempt to reduce dependency on it’s administratively independent ‘protectorate’ Taiwan, China had been working on the Wuhan Hongxin Semiconductor Project, which was planned to house it’s first 7nm chip fabrication plant. After a catalogue of failures and unexpected outcomes and at a loss of RMB 128 billion (around $18.7 billion) in investment it was halted last year, with outstanding debts and unpaid wages.

Total salaries budget for similar operations to TSMC in Nigeria may indeed be cheaper. The two problematic cost areas facing a plant in Nigeria will be maintaining uninterrupted power to the right specification, and bearing the engagement costs of civil and statutory processes and activities.

One big question is could the 20% hike by TMSC offset that? Even if it could, the supply pressure in the marketplace may only be a temporary one. It was fuelled by two phenomenon that reached crisis point in 2020 – Trade stand offs between US and China, and of course, the pandemic. There is no guarantee these pressures will be sustained and TMSC may relax their terms later.

A second issue is which dynamic is native to Nigeria which could bring a PPP project like this to succeed where the Chinese ‘Wuhan Hongxin Semiconductor Project’ failed?
A final concern would be the ever sliding Naira – since even after the Capital Project is completed and the foundry is outfitted, ready to hit the ‘on’ switch;  exotic materials will continue to need to be sourced from overseas for a very long time to come.

The biggest nation in Africa by GDP, with the biggest population is entitled to have the biggest dreams. The question is which actors are capable of converting these dreams to reality.

References and Acknowledgements (not in the main text body) :

gadgetstripe.com/tecnos-camon-series-the-first-mediatek-helio-g96-smartphones/#ftoc-heading-2

ourtopnews.com/tsmc-increased-its-chip-rates-by-3for-apple-while-others-dealt-with-20increases/

tinyurl.com/china-chip-plant-fail

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaTek

www.fxempire.com/macro/taiwan/labour-costs

technosports.co.in/2021/04/29/tsmc-news-5nm-gaining-customers-4nm-3nm-on-track-for-next-year/

www.gizmochina.com/2021/09/13/exclusive-tecno-camon-18-camera-60x-zoom-helio-g96/

The 6th edition of Tekedia Mini-MBA (Sept 13 – Dec 6, 2021) has started; registration continues for the self-paced program. It is an innovation management 12-week program, optimized for business execution and growth, with digital operational overlay. It runs 100% online. The theme is Innovation, Growth & Digital Execution – Techniques for Building Category-King Companies. Cost is N50k or $140; go here and register.

Tekedia Institute offers Tekedia Mini-MBA, an innovation management 12-week program, optimized for business execution and growth, with digital operational overlay. It runs 100% online. The theme is Innovation, Growth & Digital Execution – Techniques for Building Category-King Companies. All contents are self-paced, recorded and archived which means participants do not have to be at any scheduled time to consume contents. Besides, programs are designed for ALL sectors, from fintech to construction, healthcare to manufacturing, agriculture to real estate, etc.

The sector- and firm-agnostic management program comprises videos, flash cases, challenge assignments, labs, written materials, webinars, etc by a global faculty coordinated by Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe. It will run from Sept 13 to end Dec 6, 2021.

New York City’s attempt to stipulate how much food delivery companies can take from restaurants is facing a lawsuit from three of the biggest US food delivery outfits – DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub.

It has added to the culminating disputes between US states and gig economy companies hanging largely on workers welfare.

In May 2020, the city temporarily ordered food delivery apps to charge restaurants no more than about 20 per cent of each order total to deliver takeout – 15 per cent for the actual deliveries, five per cent for being listed in the app, plus payment processing fees. The city’s order was set to end in 90 days though it was later extended until February 2022, The Register reports.

A bill passed by the city in August this year, however, proposed making this cap permanent. It has yet to be signed into effect by Mayor Bill de Blasio. Now, in an attempt to block the bill, all three tech companies jointly filed a lawsuit against New York City in federal court on Thursday. The trio are seeking an injunction to stop the proposal from being passed.

New York City councilors believe the bill better supports restaurants and their patrons. But DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub believe it is unconstitutional and will harm businesses and their customers.

“The ordinance is unconstitutional because, among other things, it interferes with freely negotiated contracts between platforms and restaurants by changing and dictating the economic terms on which a dynamic industry operates,” according to the complaint.

Representatives from Grubhub and DoorDash told The Register the bill may lead to an increase in delivery fees for customers, making the whole experience more expensive for hungry New Yorkers.

Don’t forget: these app companies charge the restaurant and the customer for each order, so if the delivery giants can’t make the eateries pay more, the punters will have to cough up the difference. Those folks will then be less likely to order from restaurants, and, in turn, those businesses will make less money.

“Not only do price controls violate the US and New York Constitutions, but they will likely harm the very restaurants the city purports to support,” a spokesperson for DoorDash told The Register.

“In addition, price controls can lead to higher prices for consumers, which can reduce orders and earnings for Dashers. Imposing permanent price controls is an unprecedented and dangerous overreach by the government and will limit the options small businesses rely on to compete in an increasingly competitive market.”

“Grubhub has worked hard during the pandemic to support restaurants in New York City and across the country.

“Despite our best efforts, the city council recently passed an unprecedented and unconstitutional price control targeting the food delivery industry. Price controls increase delivery fees for consumers, and therefore lead to a reduction of orders for both restaurants and couriers. While Grubhub remains willing to engage with the city council, we unfortunately are left with no choice but to take legal action,” a Grubhub spokesperson told The Register.

A similar bill was passed in San Francisco, and the companies also sued that city in federal court in July, according to SF Chronicle. Mayor London Breed indicated she didn’t want to sign off on the law, and it passed without her signature.

US states are increasingly getting involved in how app-based businesses using the gig model treat their workers and now, other parties involved in their business. The state of California set the pace with its AB5 legislation that mandated ride-hailing app operators in the state to recognize drivers as employees.

It appears, other states are being inspired by that to tackle what they see as unjust treatment of parties involved with gig economy firms. However, there is always a solid line of defense from the firms based on the argument that the sustainability of their business is at stake – and that is usually left for the court to decide.

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