> APPLE’S BIGGEST CONTRACTOR BUYS CAR CHIP PLANT
Apple’s biggest global manufacturing partner, Foxconn, has acquired a semiconductor plant in Hsinchu, Taiwan, for $90m. The plant belonged to another Apple supplier, Macronix International, which makes memory chips for Apple, Sony, and Nintendo, but it is believed Foxconn plans to use the plant to produce chips for electric cars, chips which are in particularly short supply in the ongoing global component shortage. Industry observers suggest the move is part of gearing up for Apple’s long–rumored electric car, although this is not expected before 2024 at the earliest.