Covid-19 & Vaccine

  • Yonhap News Agency: As of 0:00 local time on May 3, there are only 529,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine available in South Korea. This week, the vaccine will be given to 280,000 second-dose vaccinators and those who have booked the first dose. In view of the short interval between the two doses of Pfizer vaccine (3 weeks), the local government has asked all regions to avoid receiving appointments for the first dose as much as possible.

Industry

  • Intel CEO: The global semiconductor shortage problem, which has formed a widespread impact in multiple industries, may continue for many years. Intel is transforming some of its factories to increase production and respond to the shortage of chips in the automotive industry. It may take at least a few months for the tight supply to begin to ease.
  • Economic Daily: The semiconductor industry chain has exploded in operations this year. TSMC, MediaTek and other indicator factories have increased their salaries, bonuses, and dividends, and recently launched new stocks that restrict employee rights to reward employees. The industry expects that the total salary of employees in the semiconductor industry this year is expected to reach its peak in recent years.
  • Yonhap News Agency: In April, Hyundai Motor, Kia, Korea General Motors, Renault Samsung, and SsangYong Motors sold 653,139 vehicles globally, a year-on-year increase of 69.5% and a month-on-month decrease of 7.9%.

China Economy

  • Post Office: First two days (May 1~2) holiday this year, the postal express industry across the country collected 494 million parcels, a year-on-year increase of 26%; and delivered nearly 500 million parcels, a year-on-year increase of 22%.
  • Ministry of Communications: On the second day of the May 1st holiday, the total number of passengers sent by railways, highways, waterways, and civil aviation nationwide was 51.586 million, an increase of 127.2% over the same period in 2020. Among them, railways sent 14.718 million passengers, highways sent 33.96 million passengers, waterways sent 1,285,800 passengers, and civil aviation sent 1.622 million passengers.
  • Securities Times: In the first quarter, the performance of listed domestic household appliances companies has recovered year-on-year growth. Many companies’ revenue and profits have doubled year-on-year, including factors that caused the outbreak of the new crown epidemic in the same period last year, which led to a low base in the same period last year. Among the leading companies in the industry, Midea Group’s revenue increased by 42.26% year-on-year, profits increased by 34.45% year-on-year, Gree Electric’s revenue increased by 60.30% year-on-year, and profits increased by 120.98% year-on-year.
  • Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism: Three days before the “May 1st” holiday, Shanghai received 10.303 million tourists. The average room occupancy rate of hotels in Shanghai is 73.2%, an increase of 48% over the same period in 2020 and an increase of 13% over the same period in 2019.
  • Beacon Professional Edition: As of 14:14 on May 3, 2021, the total box office (including pre-sale) of the 51st tier in 2021 exceeded 1 billion yuan. The top three films at the current box office are: “Your Wedding” 333 million; “On the Cliff” 252 million; “Secret Visitor” 144 million
  • Haikou Customs: Two days before the “May 1st” holiday, a total of 294 million yuan of duty-free shopping on outlying islands was supervised, an increase of 187.65% over the same period last year.

Company

  • KKR: KKR and Natural Pet Food Group, a high-end pet food company in New Zealand, jointly announced that KKR has completed the acquisition of Natural Pet Food Group.