Asia's tech news, weekly: January 9th 2024

India's e-rupee, China-Russia quantum tech, Malaysia & semiconductors, Korea's $2.8BN startups budget, Huawei's TSMC chips, ChatGPT ransomware, Australia & alt-proteins...

• China: SEIDA, a case study in why containment efforts around access to high-end technologies is so challenging to implement, maintain and develop

• Taiwan: TSMC outlines tech roadmap for 2nm, 1.4nm, and 1nm chip processes, with plans to put 1 trillion chips on a semicon package using multiple 3D-stacked chiplets

• India: Government space agency successfully launches orbital observatory to study astronomical objects including black holes

• Russia and China report new quantum milestone with establishment of communications between the two countries, encrypted using secure keys transmitted by China’s Mozi quantum satellite

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"Huawei's HiSilicon Kirin 9006C system-on-chip in the Qingyun L540 laptop was made by [Taiwan's] TSMC using its 5nm-class process technology and assembled around the third quarter of 2020..."

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• Malaysia: "...has an established presence in chip assembly, packaging and testing as well as electronics manufacturing services, producing 13 per cent of global back-end semiconductor output."

• China: "The future prospects of the low-altitude economy are vast, potentially reaching trillion-dollar industry scales significantly sooner than that of autonomous vehicles..."

• India: Reserve Bank hits 1M daily digital currency transactions via 'e-rupee', in part through bank disbursement of some employee benefits to CBDC wallets rather than salary accounts

• China: EpicMEMS raises circa $28M with RF chips focus - used in smartphones, tablets, IoT devices, communication networks and more - taking 3-year funding to at least $100M

• Japan: Taiwan's TSMC to formally open its first Japan semiconductor facility in February, set to produce chips at 28nm scale to cater to auto and consumer electronics sectors

• China: Geely auto firm to launch 11 sats in early 2024, adding to 9 launched in June 2023 and targeting 72-satellite constellation, ostensibly for integrated terrestrial-space 'smart travel' system

• Japan: Telecoms industry sets sights on solar-powered airborne 5G mobile base stations by 2025 to provide mobile services, operating at 11-15 miles altitude and with expected coverage of 200km

• Philippines is set this year to receive Indian-made BrahMos anti-ship cruise missiles, bolstering the Philippines Navy's ability to safeguard its sovereign rights in the region

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"According to the International Energy Agency, demand for rare earth elements is expected to reach 3 to 7 times current levels by 2040; demand for other critical minerals such as lithium may multiply 40-fold."

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• China: Nio EV firm livestreamed 1000km EV battery test roadtrip, with CEO completing a 14-hour journey of 1044km with 3% of the battery remaining

• South Korea: Ministry of SMEs & Startups unveils $2.8BN budget for ‘2024 Central and Local Government Entrepreneurship Support Project', backing 397 startup support projects from 99 organizations

• China: Gov't launches Shangzhuang AI platform in bid to meet rising demand for AI-driven computing, with platform to deliver 500 petaflops of computing power in its first phase

• Australia: An overview of the country's alternative-proteins sector, with plant-based meats potentially capable of Au$3BN in domestic sales

• US-China research team makes chip breakthrough, producing world-first semiconductor constructed from graphene, potentially a leap forward in computing beyond traditional silicon chips

• India: Vietnam's VinFast electric vehicles maker to establish battery plant in Tamil Nadu, targeting production of up to 50,000 cars per year with initial expenditure of up to $200M

• Starlink satellites launch to deliver Direct to Cell capabilities for T-Mobile customers, with carriers in Japan, Australia, New Zealand and others considering participation

• China: 4 arrested in first-of-its-kind case for developing ransomware using ChatGPT, demanding cryptocurrency in payment

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"But of all the major economic and societal challenges facing China, generative AI fixes none of them and may make a few even worse..."

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• China’s quest to become a robot superpower: 'As its population shrinks, China hopes machines can pick up the slack'

• Japan: Toshiba and Rohm semiconductor firm join for gov't-supported $2.7BN development and manufacture of power devices, dovetailing with moves towards tech self-sufficiency

• India: Asia's first hyperloop test track set for construction near Chennai, backed by India's Ministry of Railway and IIT Madras

• China's GBA Capital unveils plan for $10BN fund to place Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao area as the 'world's meta-asset capital', looking at metaverse, VR, NFT and similar investments

• Philippines: Cirtek gains approval for production of 2- and 3-wheel e-motorcycles and lithium-ion batteries, marking the country's first production facility

• China: Launch pad at Hainan Commercial Launch Site was completed December 29th, the first of 2 pads to host liquid propellant launch vehicles and aiming to speed constellation launch schedules

• Thailand: Depa Digital Startup Fund allocates up to $28K for 15 early-stage startup projects working in state services, healthcare, tourism, agriculture, education, finance or smart city tech

• China: BYD EV auto-maker commences construction of its first sodium-ion batteries factory, just weeks after partnership announcement

• North Korean hackers found using new Apple macOS backdoor, SpectralBlur, which interacts with other DPRK malware packages

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"With estimates showing the EU's mining industry is 15 years behind Beijing and a staggering 98% of Europe's rare earth metals are imported from China, there is a lot of ground for the EU to make up."

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• China's Alibaba-owned Ant Group set to buy Dutch firm, MultiSafepay, in bid for Western countries payments presence, accessing MultiSafepay's 18K+ SME customers with 100% ownership bid

• Taiwan: Chiayi County Gov't debuts 'AI Mayor' to deliver a speech launching the Chiayi Culture X Technology Innovation Hub, set to host culture-focused tech startups

• South Korea: Orbit Chain platform suffers cyber-attack, losing $81M in cryptocurrency, with Police Agency and Korea Internet & Security Agency investigating

• China: Shanghai's Fuxing Island to gain 'metaverse center' alongside 50 enterprize tech projects, backed by district's $5.6BN funding

• Japan: Mercari, major e-commerce platform, to accept Bitcoin from June, adding to other crypto-focused offerings including Mercari Bitcoin trading service

• New Zealand's Futureverse partners Ready Player One author to launch Readyverse Studios, aiming to integrate major IPs into the metaverse

• South Korea: WeMade gaming giant hit with $41M tax bill over crypto-related activities following National Tax Service investigation

• Lazada e-commerce giant, owned by China's Alibaba, rolls out Asia-wide layoffs, hitting staff at all levels across Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam

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Hong Kong: "It will be extremely challenging to become licensed as an issuer of a fiat-referenced stablecoin under the proposed regime... it is also questionable how many issuers will even be capable of meeting the criteria..."

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• 'UK & Vietnam collaboration and development opportunities for the music business, 2024-2027', a report looking at the creator economy, tech startups, entrepreneurship and more

• Cybersec Asia X Thailand International Cyber Week 2024 set for Jan 31-Feb 1, featuring conferences and exhibitions, organised by Thailand's National Cyber Security Agency

• Cambodia: A quick intro to Snoopedu, an education service provider teaching coding to Cambodian children

• Netherlands' ASML global semiconductor manufacturing equipment giant canceled export of chip-making machines to China, partly in response to US-led tech controls

• HSBC's take on 12 key trends for e-commerce, globally, into 2024, touching on chatbots, voice search, payment methods and more

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Video: 'Why the Philippines is the next startup hub in ASEAN', a discussion from the recent Digital Pilipinas Festival

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Tech news beyond Asia & the Indo-Pacific:

» 'Welcome to the era of AI nationalism - Sovereigns the world over are racing to control their technological destinies', in The Economist

» FBI to deploy additional cyber assistant legal attachés to US embassies, signaling more proactive approach to, and rising importance of, combating international cybercrime operations

» LastPass password manager now mandates complex 12-character master passwords, with company checking against dark web leaks to further ensure security

» Microsoft to double down on AI-driven chatbot services with addition of 'Copilot key' to keyboards

» Russian authorities reportedly to collect taxes in 'digital ruble' from 2025, with Ministry of Finance looking to also pay pensions and other social benefits in digital rubles

» Critical technologies news from December 2023, a summary spanning space launch & satellites, critical minerals, cybersecurity, semiconductors and the supply chains that underpin them

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"A court in Washington DC has been stuck with a tough, maybe impossible, question: What does 🌝 mean?"

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