Asia's Tech News, Weekly: September 6th 2025
ASML in India, Australia's social media ban, Indonesia's geothermal energy, CBDC in South Korea, AI impacts in ASEAN, Singapore vs Meta-based scams, Monsoon Wind Power Project, TSMC's 1.4nm chips...
• Taiwan: TSMC will break ground in October on its most advanced fabrication plant to date, focusing on the 1.4-nanometer process node, internally known as A14 / full item
• India: ASML semiconductor equipment giant is eyeing opportunities in India as Modi lifts efforts to build a domestic chip industry / full item
• China: Seazen Group property developer secures new strategic partner via HK$49M share placement to accelerate deployment in real-world asset (RWA) applications / full item
• Malaysia's Paydibs digital payments firm inks partnership with China's Alipay+ to expand cross-border payment capabilities / full item
• Australia's under-16s social media ban: "Implementation depends on the willingness of a small number of dominant tech companies to enable or share control of [age assurance] processes..." / full item
"But while all this data is plentiful, it’s also more ephemeral. One day in the maybe-not-so-distant future, YouTube won’t exist and its videos may be lost forever..." / full item
• "Only 10 per cent of Indonesia's vast geothermal energy resources have been exploited. A deal between Philippine power giant First Gen and Sinar Mas aims to develop 440 megawatts..." / full item
• Download: 'The Economic Impact of AirBnB in Australia', a May 2025 report by Oxford Economics / PDF download
• The Startup Korea Special Visa, aiming to be Korea's new gateway for global entrepreneurs / full item
• "The Governor of the South Korean Central Bank says Seoul is planning to use its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to pay over 110 trillion won ($79.3 billion) in government subsidies." / full item
• Singapore's RushOwl ride-share firm raised $10M Series A with platform that reduces carbon emissions using proprietary AI tech - "RushOwl's proprietary AI technology cuts emissions by 50% and commute times by 30%" / full item
• Philippines: IdeaSpace unveils the 6 startups selected from its 13th cohort, working on solutions in proptech, PoS systems, collectibles and more / full item
• "Malaysian authorities have summoned TikTok's top management over the social media company's alleged delays in tackling fake news on its platform..." / full item
• Philippines: Davao Startup Week is set for September 24 to 27, featuring flagship events including Techstars Startup Weekend / full item
• "TikTok has temporarily suspended its live feature in Indonesia following government requests for increased content moderation amidst escalating protests..." / full item
• Startups: QBE AcceliCITY Humanitarian Challenge 2025 is seeking real-world solutions to help people prepare for, respond to, and recover from climate-driven disasters / full item
Sensay Island, Philippines: "What happens when philosophers, scientists, and leaders of the past are resurrected as AI agents and placed in charge of a tropical micronation?" / full item
• "Not just under-16s: all Australian social media users will need to prove their age – and it could be complicated and time consuming" / full item
• "Floating offshore wind farms, moored in the deep waters off Java, Nusa Tenggara and Sulawesi, could give Indonesia a new path to reliable electricity generation..." / full item
• Sri Lanka's Disrupt Asia 2025 startup conference and innovation festival is set for Colombo from 17 to 20 September - here's a brief intro: / full item
• "A Victorian lawyer has become the first in Australia to face professional sanctions for using artificial intelligence in a court case, being stripped of his ability to practise as a principal lawyer..." / full item
• "The Spanish government has intervened at the eleventh hour to cancel a contract that would have boosted the use of Chinese tech giant Huawei’s fibre optic equipment..." / full item
• Singapore: Police will soon issue an Implementation Directive requiring Meta to stamp out scam ads, accounts, profiles, and pages impersonating government officials / full item
• Japan's Osaka Prefecture preps to host Global Startup Crossroads-Osaka from 16–19 September, looking at life sciences, carbon neutral tec, and digital innovation / full item
• "The Monsoon Wind Power Project in southern Laos, the largest in Southeast Asia, is now operational and is delivering clean energy across the border to Vietnam..." / full item
• "OpenAI is seeking to build a massive new data center in India that could mark a major step forward in Asia for its Stargate-branded artificial intelligence infrastructure push." / full item
• "Chinese AI startup Zhipu said... it will help users of Anthropic's Claude AI services migrate to its own GLM-4.5 model, following a report that Anthropic will bar Chinese-run entities..." / full item
"Between 54% and 59% of jobs in Asean will be significantly impacted by artificial intelligence (AI), with roles expected to be augmented, disrupted or insulated..." / full item
• "After securing the $17 billion Tesla deal—a potential game-changer for its chip business, Samsung is reportedly restarting investment in its foundry facility in Taylor, Texas..." / full item
• "The IMF has noted that digital money, including stablecoins, if carefully managed, can aid Pacific Island growth and equality, especially where financial access is critical..." / full item
In wider-world technology news:
» Download: 'Physical AI - Powering the New Age of Industrial Operations', a September White Paper from the World Economic Forum / full item
» "The US government on Thursday began distributing gross domestic product data on public blockchains, marking the latest Trump administration endorsement of the crypto industry." / full item
» Download: 'Autonomous Vehicles - Timeline and Roadmap Ahead', an April 2025 report from the World Economic Forum / full item
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And here's the link to the LinkedIn edition of Asia's Tech News, Weekly to September 6th, 2025:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:7370282728476299264/