South-East Asia’s factory powerhouses hit by vaccination woes, Delta

Vaccination woes, virus disrupts global supplies of goods such as rubber gloves, semiconductors and sport utility vehicles and threatens the US$3 trillion (RM12.68 trillion) region’s recovery.

BANGKOK: Fresh outbreaks of the Delta coronavirus variant in South-East Asia have crippled its factory sector, disrupting global supplies of goods such as rubber gloves, semiconductors and sport utility vehicles and threatening the US$3 trillion (RM12.68 trillion) region’s recovery.

A series of factory surveys this week showed business activity across most South-East Asian economies fell sharply in July, a contrast to more resilient manufacturing economies in North-East Asia and the West, where business growth has slowed but remained in expansion.