Pentagon Weighs Supply Chain Risk Designation for Anthropic Over Claude AI Use 
OpenAI Pentagon AI Contract Adds Safeguards Amid Anthropic Dispute 
OpenAI Hires Former Meta and Apple AI Leader Ruomin Pang Amid Intensifying AI Talent War 
Trump Warns Iran as Gulf Conflict Disrupts Oil Markets and Global Trade 
Toyota Plans $19 Billion Share Sale in Major Corporate Governance Reform Move 
Venezuela Oil Exports to Reach $2 Billion Under U.S.-Led Supply Agreement 
Asian Stocks Rise on Nvidia Earnings Boost; Yen Weakens as BOJ Rate Outlook Clouds 
PBOC Scraps FX Risk Reserves to Curb Rapid Yuan Appreciation 
Netflix Declines to Raise Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Amid Competing Paramount Skydance Offer 
Boeing Secures $166.8 Million U.S. Navy Contract for P-8A Engineering and Software Support 
Meta Signs Multi-Billion Dollar AI Chip Deal With Google to Power Next-Gen AI Models 
BlueScope Steel Shares Drop After Rejecting Revised A$15 Billion Takeover Bid 
FedEx Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Tariff Refunds After Supreme Court Ruling 
Snowflake Forecasts Strong Fiscal 2027 Revenue Growth as Enterprise AI Demand Surges 
APEX Tech Acquisition Inc. Raises $111.97 Million in NYSE IPO Under Ticker TRADU 
Panama Investigates CK Hutchison’s Port Unit After Court Voids Canal Contracts 
MOEX Russia Index Hits 3-Month High as Energy Stocks Lead Gains 
Taiwanese companies, TSMC and Foxconn, are said to be signing a partnership deal for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines from BioNTech SE, a German biotechnology company. The two are said to be close to completing the contract signing process so that Taiwan could have access to the said brand of vaccine.
As per CNBC, the Taiwanese government tried to purchase COVID-19 vaccines from BioNTech for months but had no success in sealing a contract. The country blamed Beijing for dissolving the deal that Taiwan and the German company were supposed to sign earlier this year.
Leading companies to provide assistance to secure the jabs
The slow pace of vaccination in Taiwan has been slammed by the public, and this has pressured the government to agree on getting help from Terry Gou, Foxconn’s founder, and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). Taiwan agreed to the suggestion that the two major firms will be sent to negotiate on its behalf so they can get the vaccines they need,
It was mentioned that the BioNTech vaccines will only be donated to Taiwan’s government and for distribution to the public. Foxconn and TSMC are leading parts suppliers of Apple Inc.
“There are multiple parties,” the semi-conductor company said in a statement. “We are in the middle of the contract signing process. We will make announcements once the process is completed.”
On the other hand, the spokesperson of Foxconn’s founder, Terry Gou, said that they will be informing the public if there is additional news to announce. She added that Foxconn would be explaining the details for everyone to be aware of it but gave no further details.
The COVID-19 vaccine order
Foxconn and TSMC are asking for five million doses of BioNTech’s vaccines. The government of Germany is also helping with the direct talks between the biotech firm and Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. was said to have signed a deal with TSMC for the acquisition of the vaccines. The plan is for Fosun, which has direct contact with BioNTech, to sell the vaccines to TSMC.
Bloomberg reported that Fosun Pharma signed an agreement to sell 10 million doses of mRNA vaccines to TSMC, which is a separate deal for Germany’s BioNTech. If the COVID-19 vaccines are secured by TSMC and Foxconn, Taiwan’s inoculation is expected to speed up soon.
