• 5 central banks under BIS Project Nexus are to establish the Nexus Scheme Organisation managing entity for live implementations of the Bank of International Settlements’ cross-border initiative to interlink real-time payment rails / full item
• Japan’s NTT DATA partners Google Cloud, looking at customized tech stacks for enterprize customers in healthcare, finance, manufacturing and more / full item
• Australia’s Gilmour Space gains launch permit from Australian Space Agency for first flight of Eris small launch vehicle from Queensland’s Bowen Orbital Spaceport / full item
• Download: ‘e-Conomy SEA 2024‘ from Google, e-commerce and related tech across 6 countries in SE Asia – “Videos are now deeply ingrained into the consumer shopping experience…” / full item
• Vietnam: Taiwan’s Foxconn subsidiary, Shunsin, looks to invest $80M in integrated circuits plant in northern Vietnam, adding to Foxconn license for $383M circuit boards facility / full item
• China: Zhejiang Cross-Border E-commerce Comprehensive Service Platform launches, aiming to provide a streamlined one-stop source of solutions and regulations for all scales of e-business / full item
“Taiwan’s shift towards renewable energy is creating substantial challenges for industries… [TSMC] is now facing higher electricity costs in Taiwan compared to any other region where it operates…” / full item
• Taiwan’s TSMC‘s Arizona facility will roll out its first 4 nanometer chips in December, with production expected to ramp up through 2025, and 3nm chips slated for 2028 / full item
• Australia’s Canva partners Philippines’ Enstack e-commerce platform, providing businesses with free-to-use design tools, in part focusing on Enstack mobile app-based store builder / full item
• China: Xiaomi, best known as smartphone leader, hits EV milestone with delivery of over 20,000 SU7 electric vehicles in October, targeting production pace of 100,000 units by end-November / full item
• A deep dive opinion piece comparing developer costs in outsourcing tech work to India versus Vietnam / full item
• China: Apple has established research labs in Beijing, Shenzhen, Suzhou, and Shanghai, in supply chain diversification and cost-cutting move, with Korean firms set to lose out / full item
• Singapore: UOB FinLab, Bank’s innovation accelerator, awarded over $100,000 to GreenTech Accelerator 2024 firms for 15 sustainability solution pilots across ASEAN / full item
• China Manned Space Engineering Office has selected two low-cost cargo transportation systems to serve the Tiangong space station, each capable of delivering at least 1800kg to orbit / full item
• Vietnam: ‘Driving Digital Economy Growth‘ program is announced, aiming to boost digital skills for 20 million young Vietnamese, equipping them with livestream and digital marketing skills / full item
• Hong Kong: A brief intro to Braillic, changing surgical practice with augmented reality tech that allows surgeons to precisely locate areas in the brain without invasive surgery / full item
• Malaysia’s second 5G network contract has been awarded to the country’s smallest operator, U Mobile, in surprise move, superceding market leaders CelcomDigi and Maxis / full item
• 1st Australian Space Education Forum is set for November 25 in Perth, WA, delivered in partnership with the Australian Space Agency / full item
• Singapore’s OCBC bank implements blockchain tech for intraday institutional lending, making use of JP Morgan Onyx Digital Assets platform / full item
Huawei’s HarmonyOS: “At the launch event two weeks ago… the head of Huawei’s device business group dropped some more numbers. Yet these really expose the platform’s limitations.” / full item
• Report: ‘Post-Quantum Cryptography – Securing digital communications between Banque de France and the Monetary Authority of Singapore‘ / full item
• Taiwan: Some SpaceX suppliers have reportedly transferred portions of manufacturing supply chains off the island, following SpaceX concerns over geopolitical tensions / full item
• China’s CAS Space, a commercial spinoff from Chinese Academy of Sciences, looks to deliver launch services to global clients in light of fierce domestic competition / full item
• Japan: Gov’t partners Tenstorrent, a Silicon Valley AI chip firm, to train up to 200 chip designers over 5 years, as part of Japan’s bid to develop its semiconductor industry / full item
• An overview of the challenges North East India’s startup ecosystem faces, from funding to geography / full item
• South Korea: 7 major banks join retailers including 7-Eleven and Kyobo bookstore for participation in the Korean central bank’s fast-expanding CBDC pilot / full item
• Download: ‘Australia’s opportunity in the new AI economy‘, a report from Mandala Partners and Microsoft / full item
• Temu shopping platform meets heightened government scrutiny in Vietnam, in line with wider SEA concerns over the platform’s impact on domestic businesses / full item
• China’s Temu is now also facing EU Digital Services Act investigation over potential sale of illegal products, alongside an examination of alleged ‘addictive’ services design / full item
• Intel‘s CEO reportedly derailed the firm’s TSMC semiconductor discounts with ill-considered remarks, losing a 40% price cut in the process / full item
“Approximately 50% of the critical minerals on Australia’s Critical Minerals List are co-products or by-products of major commodities… Australia has large economically demonstrated resources.” / full item
• China: Cosmoleap launch secured $14M for Yueqian reusable rocket, and vehicle recovery system inspired by SpaceX, likely targeting mega-constellation satellites delivery / full item
• Hong Kong continues global digital assets hub bid with its first policy guidelines around the use of artificial intelligence in finance, and potential virtual assets tax break / full item
• Bank of New Zealand acquires Māori-led BlinkPay fintech, looking to further build out open banking services and products / full item
• South Korea: The Digital Asset User Protection Foundation is being established to help users recover assets trapped in defunct exchanges, with the government pledging support / full item
• Download: ‘FinTech in ASEAN 2024, A Decade of Innovation‘ – UOB, PwC, SFA – “Singapore and Thailand accounted for 3/4 of total FinTech funding in the region for 9M 2024.” / full item
• Download: ‘Stablecoins & CBDCs Report, October 2024‘ // “The IATA [International Air Transport Association] announced plans to integrate support for China’s digital yuan…” / full item
• Download: ‘Singapore Venture Funding Landscape 2024‘ from Enterprise Singapore and PitchBook / full item
• Download: ‘Where’s the Value in AI?‘ from BCG // “…only 26% of companies have advanced beyond the proof-of-concept stage to generate value.” / full item
• Download: ‘Advancing India’s AI Skills – Programs and Initiatives Needed‘ from NASSCOM and Deloitte / full item
• Download: ‘Startup Investment Credentials Whitepaper – Establishing Trust & Standards in Startups Investments‘ is available, built on the United Nations Development Program Universal Trusted Credentials framework / full item
Critical minerals: “…in 2022 global demand for lithium exceeded its supply by 9%, but by the end of 2024, the lithium production volume will exceed the consumption volume by 11%…” / full item
• Online now: Asia’s Tech News Podcast/Audio episode 2, a 10-minute selection of recent Asia-Pacific technology news headlines / full item
• AI Training & Copyright Infringement – Solutions from Asia: “…copyright-related industries contribute nearly 10% to Korea’s GDP.” / full item
• China: Alibaba Group is reportedly scaling down metaverse operations, joining other tech firms in pulling back from the much-hyped sector / full item
• Australia & NZ: A quick intro to the 7 startups graduation from the Founder Institute pre-seed accelerator, with solutions in battery recycling, AI-driven health-tech and more / full item
• A transnational scam ring comprising Thai, Myanmar, and Cambodian nationals has been arrested for defrauding a Thai woman of over 21 million baht ($620K)… / full item
• “Chinese manufacturers such as BYD, Nio, MG-owner SAIC, Great Wall and Chery are building more advanced electric cars with costs 30% lower than those of European carmakers…” / full item
• “Taiwan’s petrochemical industry imported record amounts of Russian naphtha last month… ranking as Taiwan’s top supplier, a position previously held by the United Arab Emirates.” / full item
• Reserve Bank of India Governor: “CBDCs can do whatever cryptos do. In fact, CBDCs have more benefits than cryptos, minus the risks associated with private cryptocurrencies” / full item
• IATA, The International Air Transport Association, is to offer digital currencies as payment options in the financial settlement systems it operates for the aviation industry / full item
• “…the semiconductor market in India, currently valued at $23.2 Bn, is predicted to reach $80.3 Bn by 2028.” / full item
Video: A brief look at the showcase flight in Japan of Joby Aviation’s ‘flying car’, an electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle / on YouTube
» “The Bank for International Settlements is leaving [mBridge] project for digital cross-border payments after… Putin identified the underlying technology as a tool to circumvent sanctions…” / full item
» Amazon partners Switzerland’s Unbound Potential for battery system featuring no critical raw materials, longer shelf life and lower costs for stationary applications / full item
» “Tether, issuer of the USDT stablecoin, is now the 18th largest holder of US Treasury bonds at $102.5BN, surpassing economies of Germany, Australia and the UAE in Q3 2024…” / full item
» Euroclear post-trade firm partnered Digital Asset blockchain firm and World Gold Council for pilot to tokenise real-world assets including gilts, gold and Eurobonds / full item
» ‘Multi-Datacenter Training – OpenAI’s Ambitious Plan To Beat Google’s Infrastructure‘ via SemiAnalysis / full item
» Microsoft shareholders to vote in December on whether MS should publicly assess adding Bitcoin to its balance sheet as an investment / full item
» Unicorn Battle is set for November 12, online, from Network Silicon Valley Club, with startups pitching solutions in space-tech, robotics, quantum, defense-tech and more / full item
