Tim Culpan’s View to 2022: Chips, Cybersecurity and Taiwan
The same small island will stay center-stage on security issues. Plus a selection of the columnist’s best work in 2021.
Taiwan is on the frontlines in more ways than one.
Photographer: I-Hwa Cheng/BloombergWhat to Expect:
A global shortage of semiconductors will ease a little in 2022 — likely driving stock prices down — leaving a lot of executives, bankers and shareholders left to question their ebullience in pouring record amounts of money into production facilities, and sending the market value of chipmakers ever higher. But it’ll take a while before the real pain from such misplaced confidence starts to show, so expect a transition year as we shift from boom to bust. One of the big takeaways from this crisis is the world waking up to the plight of Taiwan and its importance to not only the global tech industry, but in holding off the spread of China’s authoritarianism throughout the region. An easing of the supply chain crunch won’t change that role, because cybersecurity is becoming the major battleground between world powers. Taiwan is on the frontlines there, too.
From the Year Behind Us: