The coronavirus could have wide-reaching effects on technology manufacturing, eCommerce marketplaces and the economy as a whole. Here are the latest updates on the coronavirus around the world.
Samsung will move a portion of its domestic phone manufacturing to Vietnam because of the quick spread of the coronavirus and temporarily shutter its facility in Gumi, the Financial Times reported. The firm has been making its Galaxy S20 smartphone and a new foldable Galaxy Z Flip for consumers within the country there. The move comes as the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the factory increased to six. Samsung said it would “return Gumi’s production to normal levels when appropriate.”
In other news, the disruption brought about by the coronavirus has made one of the largest tech firms in China among the most susceptible to a health crisis, the Financial Times reported. Didi, for its part, controls over 90 percent of the ride-hailing market in the country and is one of the largest wagers of SoftBank. The coronavirus, however, has reportedly impacted business. One Baotou Didi driver told the outlet, “There are not many people hailing cars.”
On another note, eBay is prohibiting hand sanitizers and face masks from its eCommerce site, CNBC reported. The decision is reportedly only applicable to American listings and was made because of worries that inflated prices could contravene legislation on price gouging. The firm sent sellers a notice, saying it was blocking new listings for disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer and surgical masks “effectively immediately.”
And, due to the coronavirus, Needham analysts dropped their revenue estimates for Facebook for the first portion of 2020, CNBC reported. Shares of Facebook were down approximately 3 percent Friday morning per the report, as a wider market selloff took place. Analysts Dan Medina and Laura Martin indicated that channel checks displayed lower retail, travel, entertainment and consumer packaged goods spending. Those categories together comprise 30 to 45 percent of the total revenue of the social media platform.
In other news, Starbucks won’t be taking reusable thermos flasks and cups from consumers in Europe, Africa and the Middle East because of the coronavirus, but it will still honor the discount for consumers who have one, Reuters reported. The coffee chain had made a similar policy public domestically on Wednesday. In recent times, coffee shops have encouraged diners to bring their own thermal tumblers or reusable cups to reduce waste. Firms globally have needed to reconsider their operations to slow proliferation of the coronavirus.
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