Asia Pacific

70% of businesses push past pandemic, maintain digital transformation spend (CIO Dive)

Despite the economic contraction, 70% of businesses plan to sustain or increase their 2020 investments in digital transformation, according to a survey of 3,000 global executives published by software company IFS....

Thailand

Thailand looks past pandemic to build US$9b airport city (The Business Times)

Thailand is looking past the pandemic and pushing ahead with a 290 billion baht (S$13.1 billion) "airport city" aimed at creating a destination for travel and manufacturing, according to the...

Indonesia

Seven companies to relocate facilities to Indonesia, invest $850m (The Jakarta Post)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced on Tuesday that seven foreign companies had confirmed plans to relocate production facilities to Indonesia, mostly from China, an encouraging signal for the country’s investment...

Myanmar

How is Covid-19 transforming Myanmar’s digital economy? (Oxford Business Group)

Covid-19 has shaken up the development of the digital economy in Myanmar, with the pandemic leading to a rise in demand for home broadband in this traditionally mobile-first market. As various...

Malaysia

Great Eastern to buy 21.8% of Boost Holdings (The Star)

Singapore-based insurer Great Eastern will buy a 21.875% stake in Boost Holdings Sdn Bhd that will see it becoming an equity partner with Axiata Digital Services Sdn Bhd. Great Eastern,...

ASEAN

Customer Experience as the Centre of a Business’s Endeavour

Today businesses have realized that digital transformation strategies must begin with the customer experience. According to Asia IoT Business Platform's ASEAN Digital Enterprise Report, 41% of businesses identified improving customer experience or...

Indonesia

BRI Ventures, a pioneer in venture capital for UMKM start-ups (The Jakarta Post)

Through Sembrani Nusantara, BRI Ventures is set to raise Rp 300 billion from investors that will be distributed in the form of participating shares for start-ups in Indonesia. The investors...

Singapore

DBS, ComfortDelGro Taxi in strategic payments partnership (The Business Times)

DBS Bank and transport operator ComfortDelGro Taxi have partnered to enhance payment services for Singapore customers. Users will now be able to book and pay for their ComfortDelGro taxi rides...

Myanmar

Yoma to buy controlling stake in Myanmar e-payment firm Wave Money (The Straits Times)

Yoma Strategic on Wednesday (June 24) proposed to increase its existing shareholding and take a controlling interest in mobile payments firm Digital Money Myanmar (Wave Money) via a US$76.5 million...

Thailand

NBTC joins forces with Siriraj Hospital and HUAWEI (Bangkok Post)

NBTC joins forces with Siriraj Hospital and HUAWEI, piloting unmanned vehicle, transforming Thai healthcare with 5G into smart hospital. The technology can replace manpower in logistics services as it can operate...

Thailand

Central bank plans digital payment prototype (Bangkok Post)

The Bank of Thailand unveiled on Thursday plans to build a prototype of a payment system for businesses using central bank digital currency (CBDC), or traditional money but in digital...

Malaysia

MDEC welcomes foreign digital investments into Malaysia post-Covid-19 (Malay Mail)

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) welcomes foreign digital investments into the local market with the gradual reopening of economic sectors following the government’s success in containing Covid-19. This article originally...

ASEAN

Accelerating digital transformation amid pandemic (The Jakarta Post)

With the current rapidly changing situation, companies’ ways of doing business have been significantly altered. Business continuity, such as balancing the best for the company, protecting employees and providing the best...

ASEAN

5G not just hype, but offers real investable opportunities (The Business Times)

Each previous new generation of network has produced a big jump in speed. And we will certainly see this with 5G, which is estimated to be between 10 and 100...

Malaysia

On track to be high-tech nation (The Star)

The government announced the short-term revival plan (Penjana) to empower people, propel businesses and stimulate the economy in the wake of the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. It has...

Singapore

Govt to award up to $3.5b in ICT contracts, 80% open to SMEs this year (The Straits Times)

To accelerate the country’s digital transformation efforts and help these firms ride through the crisis, the Government will increase the total projected value of its ICT contracts for this financial year, which...

Philippines

PLDT Enterprise launches digital transformation program to help businesses (Rappler)

PLDT Inc., through its Enterprise Business Group, launched a multi-million dollar digital transformation program aimed at improving service delivery, employee engagement, and operational efficiency to better cater to their customers’...

Indonesia

Allianz Indonesia expands digital services as more people stay home (The Jakarta Post)

Insurance provider PT Asuransi Allianz Life Indonesia launched an end-to-end digital service on Wednesday to sell its products following a recent Financial Services Authority (OJK) announcement allowing digital insurance marketing....

ASEAN

ASEAN agree to limit tariff barriers to fuel economies (The Phnom Penh Post)

At the meeting, participants discussed building platforms to facilitate existing trade to promote and support supply chain connectivity in the region and leveraging technology and digital commerce to support and...

Vietnam

Grappling with digital evolution (Vietnam Investment Review)

The writer is the Head of Enterprise Engagement, ASEAN of Industry Platform, Lam Nguyen. Improvements in telecommunication infrastructure like 4G and 5G increased internet access and smartphone penetration, and growing income levels...