Asia's Tech News, Weekly: June 7th 2025

China & fusion energy, Tonga goes digital, Hanoi's EV goals, AI & Islam, crypto ATMs in Australia, Singapore space news, Laos energy ambitions, Tuvalu & digital sovereignty, Philippines disinfo law...

• Taiwan's TSMC is evaluating construction of an advanced production facility in the United Arab Emirates, a complex of 6 factories similar to facilities TSMC is building in Arizona / full item

• Pacific Island nation of Tonga launches TongaPass digital ID and government portal / full item

• Vietnam's "...e-commerce market surpassed US$25 billion last year, growing by 22% year-on-year, and now accounts for approximately 9% of total retail sales in goods and consumer services." / full item

• "Almost four in five Australian secondary schools are already using artificial intelligence (AI) tools, according to new research from Campion Education." / full item

• Thailand: City of Bangkok partners Google to use AI to better manage traffic flow across the city, aiming to reduce road congestion and air pollution / full item

• China: "Backed by a coordinated national strategy, generous funding, and a rapidly expanding talent base, Beijing isn’t just chasing fusion energy—it’s positioning itself to dominate the field." / full item

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"While Australia remains the primary partner in the... space domain, the US Space Forces Indo-Pacific is also looking to deepen ties with... Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and India." / full item

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• "A recent study assesses India's AI maturity and readiness as at par with China, and India's AI market is projected to reach a market size of USD 17 billion by 2027." / full item

• Laos rolls out regulation requiring all digital service providers contribute 1% of their gross revenue to Digital Telecoms Development Fund to boost nationwide digital transformation / full item

• Hong Kong police and authorities from South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Macao, Malaysia, and Maldives arrest more over 1800 in operation targeting transnational scam networks / full item

• CEO of China's CATL predicts a major shift to electric trucks in China by 2028 / full item

• Vietnam: 'Hanoi aims to convert 100% of its gasoline and diesel-powered buses to electric and green energy buses by 2030 at the latest.' / full item

• Visa enters talks with Grab, and China's Ant International and Tencent, focusing on growth of AI-driven commerce / full item

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ECIPE: AI and India’s National Interest

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• Taiwan's RunSpace Innovation Challenge is now open for domestic and international teams in space and satellite innovation, with a focus on CubeSats / full item

• Malaysia: Bank Muamalat launches 'ATLAS by Bank Muamalat', 'Malaysia’s first Islamic digital-only bank centered on faith and lifestyle alignment' / full item

• "By recreating its land, archiving its culture, and digitising its government, Tuvalu can exist as a nation even after its land is no more..." / full item

• TSMC flags delays in Japan expansion due to local community impacts, while US plans advance / full item

• Cambodia: Smart Axiata telco and TrueMoney digital payments firm ink MoU to grow joint telecom-and-fintech services across the Kingdom / full item

• Indonesia: GoTo and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison announce launch of new, enhanced version of Sahabat-AI large language model, now capable of operating in 5 local languages / full item

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"The launch of artificial intelligence-powered Islamic preachers has raised questions in Malaysia over the technology’s potential to distort local Islamic teachings..." / full item

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• Taipei AI+ Startup Pitch Contest applications close June 30th / full item

• Malaysia's CIMB Bank and China's UnionPay International ink MoU to lift payment services in Malaysia, focusing on retail, transportation, medical care, and ecommerce spaces / full item

• "Australia's national financial intelligence agency has rolled out new operating rules and transaction limits for crypto ATM operators, as federal police say scams through the kiosks are on the rise." / full item

• Malaysia: U Mobile partners Telekom Malaysia in $568M deal to fast-track 5G rollout using TM's 740,000km fiber infrastructure, targeting 80% 5G coverage within one year / full item

• China: "The 2030 action plan, released by the State Administration for Market Regulation, focuses on breakthroughs in chip technology and quantum-scale measurement..." / full item

• Philippines: UK's Sensay is to launch world-first AI-governed island off the coast of the Philippines, featuring a 'digital cabinet' of historical figures including Marcus Aurelius and Churchill / full item

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• Singapore Space & Technology Ltd relaunches as SST Think Tank, dedicated to mainstreaming space and commercialising space technologies across non-space sectors / full item

• Australia: Victorian government awards Au$10M to Australian Centre for AI in Medical Innovation for La Trobe University deployment of NVIDIA-driven supercomputer / full item

• China: "Humanoid robotics are intended to inject productivity gains across various sectors, especially healthcare, education, logistics and elderly care..." / full item

• Australia: CSIRO opens applications for India-Australia Rapid Innovation & Startup Expansion Accelerator - RISE - seeking innovation in renewable energy technologies / full item

• China: Astronstone, launched in 2024, has raised over $13M with stainless steel, reusable launch vehicle modeled on SpaceX Starship and 'chopsticks' recovery system / full item

• "Tokyo-based ispace had hoped to make history as only the third private firm - and the first outside the United States - to achieve a controlled arrival on the lunar surface." / full item

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"NVIDIA now faces a significant setback with a $4.5 billion write-off due to US export restrictions, rendering its China-specific H20 chips unusable. Designed to comply with previous regulations..." / full item

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• China: "Unlike previous AI agents, Manus uses a browser-based sandbox that lets users supervise the agent like an intern..." / full item

• Laos: A 1000-megawatt solar power project in Oudomxay Province reached 60% percent, set to commence operation by the end of 2025 / full item

• Australia: "This brings the number of BTC ATM installations from 1,385 on January 1, 2025 to 1,821 as of June 3 as per data from CoinATMradar." / full item

• "Temu's US daily active users dropped 52% in May versus March, while Shein's were down 25%, according to Sensor Tower data shared with CNBC." / full item

• Laos: "...is poised to export renewable electricity to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, and to a lesser extent, to Myanmar and Malaysia..." / full item

• Philippine Blockchain Week 2025 is set for June 10-11 / full item

• Philippines: 'Anti-fake news bill seeks up to 12-year jail time, P2M fine for disinfo peddlers' / full item

• Malaysia's government-run MY EG Services inks MoU with Singapore Trade Data Exchange Services with sights on digital cross-border trade between Malaysia and Singapore / full item

• China: "The Trump administration plans to broaden restrictions on China’s tech sector with new regulations to capture subsidiaries of companies under US curbs." / full item

• Plug and Play innovation platform launches in Cambodia via partnership with Ministry of Post & Telecoms and American University of Phnom Penh Tech Center / full item

• "Thailand's draft Platform Economy Act aims to safeguard economic stability and enhance trust in the country's booming digital ecosystem..." / full item

• The State of DDoS Attacks in APAC in Q1 2025 from StormWall: "In Q1 2025, two previously observed DDoS trends intensified across Asia..." / full item

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"...if Tuvalu loses its land, it loses its sovereignty. Its continued existence as a nation state... is contingent on other nations agreeing to legally recognise Tuvalu's ongoing sovereignty, with or without land." / full item

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• Echelon Singapore 2025 from e27 takes place June 10–11 in Singapore - over 8K delegates and 150+ speakers / full item

• Cambodia: ARC Startup Accelerator opens for applications on June 11th, focusing on early-stage entrepreneurs with mentorship, funding access and ecosystem support / full item

• Malaysia: Microsoft rolls out 'Malaysia West' cloud region, deepening commitment to the country's digital and AI efforts, with oil firm, Petronas, a key customer / full item

• Indonesia's Green Rebel Foods plant-based meat firm rolls out 2 products at 7-Eleven Philippines, as both retail offerings and as part of in-store meals / full item

• Cambodia: Applications are now open for the Cambodia Startup Accelerator from Seedstars and Khmer Enterprise, with a June 29th deadline / full item

• 'On board the driverless lorries hoping to transform China's transport industry' / full item

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AI Agents: "80% of organizations reporting their AI agents have already performed unintended actions, including inappropriate data sharing and unauthorized system access, the report said." / full item

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In wider-world technology news:

» An interview-based overview of Kazakhstan's moves towards a 'digital Tenge' CBDC / full item

"Google's recently launched AI video tool can generate realistic clips that contain misleading or inflammatory information about news events, according to a TIME analysis..." / full item

» Here's a quick intro to 8 robotic hand startups, many of them driven by artificial intelligence systems / full item

» Five banks in Kazakhstan have joined the National Bank's pilot project to launch crypto cards / full item

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