COVID in Southeast Asia affects you

If you happen to own a car, a computer, or an electronic device, chances are, it was assembled somewhere in Southeast Asia. Global supply chains situate themselves in countries like Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.

However, the region has experienced a surge in coronavirus infections the past few months, thanks to the Delta variant. Low full-vaccination rates have compounded the issue- Vietnam stands at a 3% rate and Thailand at an 11% rate.

Frequent lockdowns have shut many production plants, severely impacting manufacturing in August especially, according to a survey of 2100 factories. Labour shortages have occured in Thailand as well, negatively impacting labour-intensive sectors such as food and textiles.

According to lead Asia economist Sian Fenner, global supply chains will see some major re-shaping. Companies will diversify supply chains because the pandemic has shown how risky it is to concentrate them in one geographic area.