Asia's Tech News, Weekly: September 20th 2025
Indonesia & social media curbs, Taiwan's satellite needs, Australia's fintech value, Sri Lanka startup fund, Malaysia & Shariah-compliant AI, North Korean hackers & ChatGPT, blockchain in Laos...
• Sri Lanka: Government unveils plans for state-backed startup fund, looking to anchor and develop the nation's innovation ecosystem participants / full item
• "Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates just inked five major deals aimed at boosting financial, trade, and technology ties across Asia and the Middle East." / full item
• Australia: "Fintech contributes well over $22 billion in value to the economy – $12 billion of that as direct value." / full item
• Singapore's Terra Oleo: "Terra Oleo’s oil-producing microbes could replace destructive palm oil plantations" / full item
• "Thailand's digital industry is expected to be worth 3 trillion baht by 2027, up from a projected 2.69 trillion baht this year." / full item
"Taiwan needs 150 of its own low Earth orbit satellites for 'basic communication resilience' in case the subsea telecoms cables connecting the island with the rest of the world are damaged..." / full item
• Vietnam: Electric motorcycle startup, Dat Bike, raises $22M as the country moves towards an end to gasoline-powered vehicles / full item
• "Indonesia is mulling a 'one person, one account' policy for social media use, a proposal currently under review by the Communication and Digital Ministry..." / full item
• Tech in Asia and Airwallex for Startups are presenting the Startup CFO Summit in Singapore, October 28th - details and registration here / full item
• "Vietnamese automaker VinFast Auto Ltd. has announced its preliminary domestic Vietnam deliveries of 10,922 electric vehicles (EVs) in August 2025." / full item
• Japan: SBI Shinsei Bank is preparing to launch a digital currency for corporate clients, looking to launch in fiscal 2026, connecting to a global payment network / full item
• The Malaysian government has partnered Zetrix AI Berhad, developer behind NurAI, to establish a global framework for Shariah compliance, certification and governance in AI / full item
• Vietnam: "VPBank Securities... will take the lead in the bank’s crypto asset project... will mobilize blockchain, finance, and cybersecurity experts, along with top consulting firms..." / full item
• "The Philippines has overtaken Indonesia in terms of regional startup deal values in the first half of 2025, ranking fourth." / full item
• Vietnam: Amazon pledges $570M investment by 2030 to build Amazon Kuiper satellite internet infrastructure as part of successful deal, spanning ground stations and terminal manufacturing / full item
• Indonesia: SpaceX has launched Pasifik Satelit Nusantara satellite telco's Nusantara Lima sat into orbit, with PSN aiming to deliver services to Indonesia, Malaysia, and The Philippines / full item
'Is it a crime to insult virtual idols? South Korean court says yes' / full item
• Laver Cup tennis tournament enters long-term strategic partnership with China's Alipay+ digital payments, digitization and financial technology provider / full item
• Japan: "The Nudge Card will be accepted at over 150 million VISA merchants worldwide. It will utilize the Japanese yen-backed stablecoin, JPYC, for payments." / full item
• Thailand's Electronic Transactions Development Agency has set a goal to establish Thailand as a regional hub for artificial intelligence, with wide-ranging preparations proposed / full item
• North Korean hackers found to have used ChatGPT to create a fake military ID as part of a phishing attack on South Korea / full item
• Saudi Arabia's Central Bank and China's Ant International payments giant join to launch cross-border QR payments between KSA's national payment scheme, mada, and Alipay+ / full item
• Thailand: Digital Economy Promotion Agency and Ericsson extend partnership to advance deployment of 5G tech in industry / full item
• Major entertainment firms Disney, Warner Bros and NBCUniversal join in lawsuit against China's MiniMax AI firm, claiming IP theft as a 'bootlegging business model' / full item
• Laos will host its first Lao Blockchain Fest under the theme 'Building Resilient Future-Chain' from November 21-22 in Vientiane / full item
• Indonesia: "Opportunities are wide open for foreign investors... to take part in Indonesia’s multi-billion-dollar plan of deploying up to 100 gigawatts (GW) of solar power to its villages..." / full item
• "Thailand is emerging as a key PCB manufacturing hub amid geopolitical tensions, with China's Victory Giant Technology building a major factory in Ayutthaya for AI hardware..." / full item
"Travellers heading to Southeast Asia can now book Grab rides without leaving their home e-wallet, as Alipay+ brings the superapp’s ride-hailing service into its Voyager platform." / full item
• Vietnam: 'Bybit Signs MOU with Da Nang People’s Committee to Advance Vietnam’s Digital Asset Future' / full item
• Vietnam: VinFast EV firm inks MoU with Vietmap driving solutions provider to integrate digital mapping and smart traffic services into VinFast EVs / full item
• Australia's startup festival, Spark, returns October 27 to November 2 / full item
• Thailand: "From 2019 to 2024, Chinese investors have received go-ahead certificates for projects worth US$8.4 billion... in the Eastern Economic Corridor cluster, which covers three provinces..." / full item
"The company is gene-editing plants to absorb large amounts of nickel from the soil as they grow–at battery-grade quality. The metal can then be extracted after harvesting." / full item
In wider-world technology news:
» Google Cloud launches Agent Payments Protocol - AP2 -an open protocol to securely initiate and transact agent-led payments across platforms / full item
» "The partnership between Rio Tinto and Founders Factory represents a significant investment in mining's sustainable future... this collaboration has reviewed over 1,500 startups globally" / full item
» "The US is weighing the creation of a $5 billion mining investment fund, which would mark its largest step yet into direct dealmaking to secure critical minerals..." / full item
» The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2025 from Startup Genome and the Global Entrepreneurship Network is available to download / full item
Albania unveils world's first AI-driven 'minister', set to manage public procurement in a bid to eliminate corruption / full item
More of Asia's Tech News:
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And here's the 20th September LinkedIn edition of Asia's Tech News, Weekly, for those who prefer LinkedIn for their newsletter subscriptions:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/asias-tech-news-weekly-september-20th-2025-startup-news-asia-ec51c/