Foxconn boss Terry Gou and TSMC ‘seal BioNTech vaccine deals’ for Taiwan

The billionaire and chip maker have both reached initial agreements to buy 5 million doses, according to sources

However, the deal with Fosun has not been finalised and there are still legal hurdles to clear

Reading Time:2 minutes

Taiwan has been struggling to secure vaccines. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:18pm, 4 Jul 2021Updated: 1:21pm, 4 Jul 2021

Terry Gou, the billionaire founder of Taiwan’s Foxconn, and TSMC reached initial agreements to each buy 5 million doses of BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, according to three sources with knowledge of the situation.

Taiwan’s government has tried for months to buy the shots directly from Germany’s BioNTech and has blamed mainland China, which claims the self-ruled island as its own territory, for nixing a deal the two sides were due to sign earlier this year. China denies the accusations.

Last month, facing public pressure about the slow pace of Taiwan’s inoculation programme, the government agreed to allow Gou and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to negotiate on its behalf for the vaccines, which would be donated to Taiwan’s government for distribution.

Gou and TSMC reached the agreements with a subsidiary of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group, which has a contract with BioNTech to sell the COVID-19 vaccines in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, the sources said.

The deal is not final and will still take some time to close the deal, one source said.