Asia's tech news, weekly: April 25th 2023
AI & India's coders, crypto in Singapore, Indonesia's e-commerce boom, Huawei's new ERP tech, Foxconn & EVs, North Korean spy satellites, New Zealand hydrogen tech...
• North Korea may be set to launch its first dedicated spy satellite by month-end, with Kim Jong-Un talking of plans for multiple units
• Indonesia: "In 2021, it became the 9th-largest e-commerce sector in the world, valued at $43BN - nearly 6times its value in 2018 ($8BN)..."
• China: 'Net regulator releases draft artificial intelligence rules including requirement that 'generative AI should reflect the core values of socialism'
"Large law firms are using a tool made by OpenAI to research and write legal documents. What could go wrong?"
• Thailand: An overview of the country's moves to establish a blockchain-based national ID system
• Taiwan: A look at Foxconn's expansion in the global EV sector, a bid to reduce dependence on iPhone business now set to feature 2 new EV model launches each year
• BlueFocus marketing agency - China's top, and 11th globally - to replace 3rd-party copywriters and designers with ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence-driven tech
• Taiwan: Gogoro battery-swap firm partners Enel X energy services to integrate 2500 GoStations into Enel X Virtual Power Plant, to put profit-making energy back into electrical grid
• Australia: Cortical Labs gains $10M with biological artificial intelligence, combining lab-grown human brain cells and computer chips
• China: Cainiao likely to be first Alibaba unit to IPO due to e-commerce logistics firm's critical importance, locally and globally
"More than $3.1 billion was lost to scams in 2022 — an 80% increase from 2021 — according to a report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission..."
• New Zealand: Bspkl deep-tech manufacturing startup raises NZ$2.5M with tech producing cleaner hydrogen using fewer precious metals
• China: Guangdong province plans launch of 2nd phase of semiconductor fund of $4.37BN, aiming to develop chips and equipment alongside IPO plans for firms backed
• Malaysia: Gov't reportedly to add a second 5G network from 2024, aiming to break monopoly risk and promote competition
• China: Huawei replaces software management systems sourced from US vendors with own MetaERP system, potentially a new product line eventually competing with Oracle and SAP
• Australian Defence Force found to be using DJI drones, a company sanctioned by the US, leading to calls for government-wide policy on use of tech from suppliers deemed to be high-risk
• Philippines: BayaniPay fintech launches new feature allowing overseas Filipino workers to directly pay real estate developers for property investments
On cloud computing: "Digitalization has become central to the strategic contest...given its importance for economic growth. It creates what Zbigniew Brzezinski called (in 1997) 'novel dimensions of power.'"
• North Korea believed to be behind 3CX 'software supply chain' hack, first sighting of a cascading hack with one compromizing a legitimate update to enable the next to be delivered to customers
• Philippines: Metro Pacific Tollways partners Brankas fintech to provide automated toll road e-wallet reloading via bank account integration
• Japan: An overview of the country's growing cybercrime challenges
• South Korea: Mediwhale retina scanning startup raises $9M with AI-powered diagnosis of broad health risks including cardiac and kidney disorders
• State-run China Mobile reportedly considering purchase of HK Broadband Network, Hong Kong's largest telco
• Vietnam: Startups have raised $40.6M in Q1 2023 - but this is 49% lower than the $80.1M raised in the same period last year
"Officials from Rome's industry ministry discussed...cooperation on the production and export of semiconductors during recent meetings in Taipei...that Italy may scrap its participation in China's Belt and Road..."
• Thailand: China's Changan Auto to commence EV production in Thailand, its first outside China, with initial $285M investment in facilities and plans for additional $581M over 4 years
• Australia: Finalists have been selected for the FinTech Australia 2023 Finnie awards - here's an overview
• Vietnam: An overview of how XAG agricultural drones are making an impact on Vietnam's fruit farms, boosting efficiency in watering, fertilizing and pest control
• China: US-China Economic and Security Review Commission report finds China-based platforms presenting possible data risks, Xinjiang sourcing violations and IP infringements
• Taiwan: An overview of the country's food-focused startups and innovations
• “Should crypto be recognised as money under Singapore law? If it is, does it mean that any obscure form of currency – even seashells – would have to be recognised?”
Australia: "Everything that we fear about what TikTok may become already is occurring on WeChat...narratives are managed, information is managed, dissenting views are demoted or eliminated..."
• Kingdom of Bhutan sovereign investment arm, managing around $2.9BN in assets, reportedly placed millions of dollars into cryptocurrencies without public disclosure
• China: Baidu partners Black Sesame to combine smart driving solutions with Black Sesame system-on-chips to create integrated driving and advisory system, aiming for launch late 2023
• Ukraine places China's Xiaomi smartphone giant and key executives on 'international war sponsors' list over business in Russia
• TikTok data collection: "...increased what location information it collects to include altitude, which could tell it what floor of a building a user is on."
• India: "If the sort of technology underpinning ChatGPT displaces software engineers, no single country would be impacted more than India, home to over 5 million coders."
• Musk’s Twitter destruction continues with new blunders, removing 'government-funded media' labels - including those on recognised propaganda and disinformation channels Xinhua, RT and Sputnik
In other news…
» A brief intro to Sateliot, low earth orbit satellite firm capable of 5G coverage over 800K square miles focusing on internet-of-things connectivity
» MicroStrategy analytics major develops functional integration of Lightning Network payment protocol into corporate email address, allowing email to send and receive bitcoin
» Facebook / Meta take on how the Metaverse can transform education
» US Next Energy Technologies startup gains $3M grant to further develop organic photovoltaic coating for commercial windows, seeing first-gen capable of offsetting up to 20% of a building's power needs
» "In...just a week, Musk's erratic leadership resulted in 2 major, credible news organizations leaving the platform just as Russia's 'information weapon' RT got a boost from Twitter's algorithm..."
Who owns a song created by artificial intelligence? "Lawmakers have begun to contemplate new rules around authorship and ownership in connection with creative machines, and the stakes are huge..."
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