East Asia
🇨🇳 Mainland China
- Apple removes 3,330 games from China’s iOS App Store as it closes a loophole which allowed unlicensed paid games to list on the platform →
- Luckin Coffee confirms $300 million revenue fraud →
- The British government reverses a decision to let Huawei play a significant role in building the country’s 5G infrastructure →
- Tesla opens reservations for its Cybertruck in China, testing the market’s appetite for the vehicle →
Hong Kong
- Facebook and Twitter confirm they have suspended processing demands for user data from Hong Kong authorities following the introduction of the Hong Kong national security law in the territory → and TikTok plans to exit the territory “within days” →
🇯🇵 Japan
- Japanese companies to receive government support in developing post-5G technologies →
- Universities and research institutes can now access the RIKEN supercomputer via cloud infrastructure →
- A new app is released to offer help, including lawyer information, to those working in exploitative work environments →
- Uber launches in Tokyo →
- Convenience store chain FamilyMart to introduce remote-controlled robots to some of its stores to save on labour →
- With baseball matches going on without crowds in Japan, a digital version of tossing money into a hat has begun to connect players with their fans at matches →
- Sony announces its new product “Wear,” a device that can be attached to innerwear to cool down the body →
🇰🇷 South Korea
- The South Korean government plans to develop a blockchain registry to help analyse, anonymise, and store clinical data for diabetes →
- The South Korean government acknowledges it is permanently keeping data on patients from previous epidemics, worrying privacy advocates →
Southeast Asia
🇮🇩 Indonesia
- Online beauty marketplace Social Bella announces $58 million in new funding to expand business →
🇸🇬 Singapore
- AI mapping solutions startup NextBillion raises $7 million in a series A funding round →
- Cloud karaoke startup Popsical receives $5 million in series A funding to upgrade products and expand overseas →
🇻🇳 Vietnam
- Survey: Vietnamese say technology is taking over their lives, but they’re not worried about it →
South Asia
🇮🇳 India
- Intel to invest $253.5 million in Jio Platforms →
- Zetwerk, a B2B marketplace for manufacturing items, raises $21 million to scale up operations and help local businesses find customers overseas →
- Payment gateway and India’s most valuable startup Paytm announces agreement to acquire insurance firm Raheja QBE for $76 million →
- Facebook announces a partnership with the Central Board of Secondary Education to launch a certified curriculum on digital safety and online well-being →
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
- Sri Lanka’s central bank to soon start development of its blockchain-based KYC platform →