Asia's Tech News, Weekly: October 11th 2025
China's subsea data centres, Singapore's digital economy, ASEAN-wide energy grid, 5G mining-tech in India, Thailand's e-buses, New Zealand sustainability startups, Shariah-focused app for Malaysia...
• “Singapore’s digital economy grew by S$12 billion ($9.27 billion), expanding to a total of S$128.1 billion ($98.98 billion) in 2024...” / full item
• Here’s an overview of developments potentially leading to an ASEAN-wide energy ‘supergrid’ / full item
• “Taiwan is poised to launch its first locally made observation constellation satellite in the US later this year...” / full item
• Norway’s Hyke is to launch at least 10 autonomous e-ferries across SEA by 2027, with the Philippines and Singapore as initial markets / full item
“Ordos, a coal-rich northern Chinese city that never took off after prices crashed... has attracted more than a dozen autonomous vehicle companies seeking risk-free testing environments...” / full item
• Fasset, a UAE financial superapp, gains approval from Malaysia to provide banking services with a focus on Shariah-compliant finance / full item
• India: Tidal Wave Technologies and Consort Digital announce pilot completion for 5G mission-critical comms for the first time at a mining facility in India / full item
• China: “The facility, managed by Shenzhen HiCloud Data Centre Tech, houses servers in a 1,300-ton data cabin located 35 metres underwater...” “Each cabin contains 24 server racks capable of hosting 400 to 500 servers.” / full item
• ‘Vietnam’s crypto pilot gets no takers, with steep capital rules and bans on stablecoins and tokenized securities limiting interest.’ / full item
• Singapore Fintech Festival 2025 is set for November 12-14 - details and tix here / full item
• US FCC ‘will vote this month to tighten restrictions on telecommunications equipment made by Chinese companies deemed national security risks...’ / full item
• China: Huawei launches 3-step ‘ACT‘ concept for intelligent tech transformation for enterprises, aiming to aid AI implementation / full item
• “Pakistan is set to send two citizens for a year-long astronaut training program at China’s Manned Space Agency (CMSA), starting in October 2025...” / full item
• Gov’t of Thailand unveils initiative to convert 1520 buses into EVs under Bangkok Mass Transit Authority modernisation programme / full item
• Indonesia: “...the permit freeze was also appropriate amid allegations that TikTok’s live streaming monetization system had been exploited for online gambling.” / full item
Marketplaces vs GPT: “...consumers might soon do their shopping on artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT instead of online marketplaces.” / full item
• ‘Three innovative trans-Tasman space projects designed to enhance maritime awareness, improve agricultural planning and secure satellite communications have secured up to $5.3M in gov’t funding‘ / full item
• Download: ‘The Humanoid 100: Mapping the Humanoid Robot Value Chain‘, a February paper from Morgan Stanley / pdf link
• Indonesia: Yup digital bank secures $32M in fresh equity funding with services for underbanked and underserved populations in Southeast Asia / full item
• India: PDG data centre provider partners Flexidao clean energy intel platform and Tata Power Renewable Energy for time-matched, carbon-free energy consumption at 150MW MU1 data centre / full item
• ‘Thailand is working to expand its domestic cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF) plans beyond bitcoin to include other digital tokens...’ / full item
• Here’s a brief intro to 9 of New Zealand’s sustainability-focused startups / full item
• Japan’s SoftBank joins Meta, IPS, Telekom Malaysia and XLSmart to develop new subsea cable system connecting Japan and Singapore, and wider SEA / full item
• ‘China sends experimental Shiyan-30 satellites into orbit as launch cadence intensifies‘ / full item
• Here’s an overview of how ‘digital twin’ tech is helping with construction of Cambodia’s PP-Bavet Expressway / full item
Google’s AI Overviews: “Exclusive data shows steep year-on-year declines in monthly audiences for the top news websites in Australia as smaller publishers warn of lay-offs.” / full item
In wider-world technology news:
» ‘Cisco rolls out chip designed to connect AI data centers over vast distances‘ / full item
» “For the first time in Central Asia, a neural network has been appointed to the board of directors of a major state fund...” / full item
» ‘California enacts law giving consumers ability to universally opt out of data sharing‘ / full item
» Kazakhstan has shut down 130 illegal crypto exchanges suspected of laundering criminal proceeds, seizing virtual assets worth $16.7 million / full item
“...it’s still hard to really picture the satellite internet industry. So Rest of World pulled together data to help visualize the industry, and bring it down to earth...” / full item
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And here's the link to the LinkedIn edition of Asia's Tech News, Weekly to October 11:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/asias-tech-news-weekly-october-11th-2025-startup-news-asia-4yi4c/