Vietnam targets that by 2025, the volume of mobile payment transactions will grow by 50-80% while transaction value will surge by 80%-100% annually. It also aims for at least 80% of the population aged 15 and above to have bank accounts, the number of Internet payments to increase by 35%-40% annually, and the rate of individuals and organisations using cashless payments to reach 40%.
According to the Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s Payment Department, Le Van Tuyen, cashless payment methods like contactless cards, QR codes, and mobile banking for digital and e-commerce services are becoming increasingly popular in Vietnam, especially among young people. The country has witnessed a strong shift to electronic payment methods replacing cash, which is also a target of a plan for cashless payment development in Vietnam for the 2021-2025 period, Tuyen noted.
The plan has four major objectives. Firstly, the project aims to make non-cash payments a norm in urban areas and expand their coverage in rural areas. Secondly, it seeks to develop a safe non-cash payment infrastructure with various conveniences and facilities to meet the rising demand of firms and individuals. Thirdly, it strives to enhance the security and transparency of cashless payments, allowing authorities to better monitor economic transactions in the country. Lastly, it aims to realise growth targets set for non-cash payments in the short term, including 50% of transactions on e-commerce platforms being conducted through cashless payment methods.
The National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS), an intermediary payment service provider licensed by SBV, holds reserves equivalent to 50% of its capacity to ensure smooth cashless payment transactions. Even during peak periods, the number of transactions accounts for just over 40% of its system’s designed capacity. It has also continually developed new products and services to meet market demands. NAPAS launched a set of domestic chip cards, including debit, prepaid, and credit cards, which are intended to support the central bank’s plan to switch from magnetic strips to chip cards.
To help promote cashless payments in public services, NAPAS has also connected payment infrastructure between 45 localities and 15 ministries, departments, and agencies that provide public services. The move supported online payment services for five groups of public facilities on the National Public Service Portal, including paying social insurance premiums, real estate taxes, traffic violation fines, and court fees, among others.
The proportion of adults using smartphones in Vietnam is 73.5%, and the government aims to increase the rate to 85% by the end of 2022, according to the draft National Digital Infrastructure Strategy to 2025. To achieve this, 8.6 million of the 10 million people using feature phones would need to shift to smartphones, as OpenGov Asia reported.
The Department of Telecommunications, under the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), has informed that by the end of 2021, Vietnam had 91.3 million smartphone subscribers. By March 2022, there were an additional two million smartphone subscribers, bringing the total number to 93.5 million. Hai Phong has the highest percentage of adults using smartphones with 78.4%, followed by Da Nang with 77.8%.
The Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), a technical arm of the Department of Telecommunications, signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with an Indian product engineering and manufacturing company that works in 5G, networking and the Internet of Things (IoT).
The MoU will facilitate registered start-ups, innovators, and MSMEs working in Open Radio Access Network (RAN) to test their products at the company’s existing labs for interoperability among ORAN components from different vendors. Components include the (remote) radio unit (RRU/RU), distributed unit (DU), and central unit (CU). Start-ups can also use the labs for radio conformance, protocol, and interface testing. Facilities will be offered at a subsidised tariff, which will be decided by both the MoU partners, a press release wrote. The products offered for testing will be certified by TEC.
The testing certification will accelerate research, innovation, and domestic design and manufacturing. India aims to be a front-runner in 5G and ORAN, and this test certification ecosystem is expected to make the country a leading design, testing, and certification hub in Asia.
In April, the Department of Telecommunications invited expressions of interest (EoI) for the 5G Vertical Engagement and Partnership Programme (VEPP). The initiative aims to foster strong collaborative partnerships across 5G use-case ecosystem stakeholders and address vertical industry needs. The centre also created an inter-ministerial committee comprising representatives from several ministries, including electronics and information technology, agriculture, health, and education.
As reported by OpenGov Asia, VEPP targets industry verticals that have the potential to be testing/breeding grounds for innovative 5G use cases. Through the EoI, the programme will boost collaborations between user verticals and 5G tech stakeholders, including service providers, solution providers, and partner original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The government expects this to trigger a multiplier effect, which will tweak 5G digital solutions in economic verticals.
The programme will organise the necessary approvals and regulatory clearances to enable use-case prototyping, pilots, demos, or trials at the user or vertical industry premises. Required experimental spectrum would also be facilitated on a priority basis. The role of a VEPP partner includes identifying a single point of contact (SPoC), ideating, and collaborating with other ecosystem players for relevant 5G use-cases, and aiding access to relevant premises, campuses, or data for use-case piloting and prototyping. A partner can also hold vertical-specific hackathons to encourage digital innovations from new innovators and engage in any other actions that may be necessary to support the 5G ecosystem in the country.
DoT will provide non-exclusive access to the 5G tech ecosystem (telecom service providers, solution providers, solution partners/device and equipment vendors) to foster partnerships. It will conduct awareness sessions on 5G opportunities at the National Telecommunications Institute for Policy Research, Innovation, and Training (NTIPRIT). DoT will facilitate experimental spectrums and ties with academia, including ensuring access to academia testbeds. It will set up live demonstrations of use-cases in telecom public networks and support collaborations with vertical ministries in the development of feasible regulatory policies. It will also oversee the standardisation and interoperability of use-cases with support from TEC and the Centre for the Development of Telematics (C-DOT).
South Australia’s defence and space credentials have attracted a global technology solutions company to the state as part of the South Australian Landing Pad Programme (SALP). The company, which is headquartered in Canberra and with offices in Hobart and Newcastle, provides integrated, multi-domain solutions, analytics and services across defence, space, clean energy and maritime sectors.
The SALP supports companies looking to make their first investment in South Australia, Australia or the Asia Pacific region. Companies that establish in the state are helping to stimulate the economy, create jobs, grow new industries and support existing ones.
The company will establish close relations in South Australia with defence supply chain partners and will also be able to develop relationships with machine learning, intelligence systems, space domain, defence and air services sectors.
The presence of the firm’s Australia branch in Adelaide will be the hub for the company’s ongoing cooperative development with the Defence, Science and Technology Group. The company also aims to develop relationships with organisations in areas such as machine learning, intelligence systems, space domain awareness collaboration, defence and air services.
The establishment of the new hub in the state will contribute to the growth of the defence and space sectors in South Australia. This move to the state will enable the company to have direct access to businesses working on defence and space projects, offering opportunities to support South Australian companies with research and development to help the state build sovereign capability.
The Vice President for South Australia at the firm’s Australia branch noted that the company’s new office in South Australia will enable further growth of its defence and space footprint. He added that the company has been introducing cutting-edge technologies, delivering radars, electronic warfare systems, electro-optronic devices and air traffic control equipment to customers in Australia for well over 50 years.
They aim to realise a significant increase in their South Australian presence over the next two to five years, including local jobs in project management, engineering, electrical systems, software development, data analysis and programming.
The SALP is a crucial conduit for companies looking to build a presence in South Australia, helping businesses find a foothold in a new place, embed in the local economy, create jobs and forge connections with local vendors, partners, customers and collaborators.
The programme is now available with the support of up to AU$ 100,000 over 12 months based on the business case presented. The South Australian Landing Pad offers support and assistance in the three key areas most important when establishing in a new jurisdiction, including:
The program welcomes all the stages of growth (except seed-stage companies):
There are lots of ways to ramp up cyber protection. With the speed at which cyberfraud has risen through the pandemic and knowing its potential risks, the Philippine Central Bank is mandating cyberfraud monitoring systems for all financial institutions. While it may not be 100% safe given the sophistication of cybercriminals, it can be a great start.
To counter cybercrimes, all registered Financial Institutions or FIs under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country’s central bank, are required to put up a real-time automated fraud monitoring system. This has been announced by Benjamin Diokno, BSP Governor. In a recent virtual briefing, he explained that this is what Circular Number 1140 issued recently is all about. It is a timely amendment with regards to the IT Risk Management Framework. Cyberattacks and online criminal activity have become so rampant that they occur to two or even more FIs at the same time, recent surveillance showed.
The anti-cyber attack system should be able to respond in real-time. Diokno emphasised two systems, the anti-money laundering one and the automated fraud monitoring the other. Both must be “integrated” so their capacity to prevent a financial crime is comprehensive and cohesive.
Additionally, FIs should involve their customers. Towards this end, they should have a consumer education programme that utilises interactive platforms, the government head added. Said Circular aims to minimise financial losses due to cybercrimes and maximise financial transactions via digital means in the Asian nation. Already, the BSP has been pushing for the digital transformation of the country’s microfinance lenders as reported on OpenGov Asia.
The BSP believes that a holistic and coordinated approach among the industry players is necessary to ensure that funds cannot be easily siphoned off by fraudsters and cybercriminals. In line with this, the BSP shall continue to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure those policy frameworks and supervisory actions are effective and responsive amid a fast-evolving cyber security environment.
– Benjamin Diokno, Governor, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
Moreover, he mentioned how the drive to grow interoperable facilities has broadened digital payments use in the archipelago. Key examples of these are InstaPay and PESONet, both electronics fund transfers. Then, there’s QR PH, the nationally-mandated standard for QR Codes, and e.Gov pay, the government web-based facility that allows the public to pay needed contributions or avail of loans.
In 2021, the number of transactions for PESONet reached 21.8 million, amounting to PHP 1.3 trillion (US$ 24,801,595,000). That has gone up. To date, PESONet transactions reached 21.8 million, amounting to PHP 1.9 trillion (US$ 36,248,485,000). The same holds true for InstaPay. Its volume grew as much as 32.7 % by end of April 2022. That represents 166 million transactions, up from 125 million in the first four months last year.
Further, the BSP governor stressed that they are ensuring that Systematically Important Payments (SIPs) are following global standards to encourage greater adoption of digital financial systems.
Speaking recently, Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, Heng Swee Keat, recognises that almost every other profession will eventually have some shades of “green” as green literacy, like digital literacy, could become a necessary skill for future occupations.
“In the past decade, the digital wave came upon us in a big way. The digital economy is now a key engine of growth,” the Deputy Prime Minister said. “We must keep an eye on the next wave of skills. We must not only equip people to meet present labour market demands but also prepare them for the future.”
He added that several digital technology companies have sprung up, resulting in the creation of numerous good employment and occupations, some of which were previously unknown. Many jobs now require basic digital skills and many hawkers and small businesses have gone digital.
There are more waves on the way, according to the Deputy Prime Minister. The green wave is one such developing trend and sustainability is an emerging growth engine that is gaining traction, but much more work remains to be done before the government can achieve their net-zero goals.
In the future years, green talents will continue to be defined and developed, and it may take some time for a larger choice of training paths and appropriate salary premiums to emerge. Thus, more businesses are actively greening their processes and investing in sustainable technologies. Green-collar jobs are growing in popularity. Some are in more established industries like sustainable finance and solar management. Some are in new fields like hydrogen and tidewater architecture.
The green wave has immense promise. As the green economy evolves, attempts to acquire green skills will be iterative. However, by learning from how the global workforce responded to the digital wave, workers may be able to better adapt to the green wave and future waves.
Moreover, every stakeholder must work together to achieve better livelihoods, a more vibrant economy, and a more sustainable environment. Companies, workers, and governments all have a stake in each other’s success. Businesses that succeed create better jobs for their employees, while companies can flourish with the help of skilled and motivated employees.
Singapore’s collaborative tri-partism model is a significant enabler of economic agility and development. Unions take a progressive approach, defending workers’ rights while simultaneously engaging with businesses to help them transform and their employees upskill. The government invests heavily in education, giving the children and youth a strong foundation and a thirst for knowledge, and providing workers with lifelong learning opportunities through SkillsFuture.
In a tight labour market, the government’s ability to upskill and reskill people will determine the rate of growth. Over the last decade, they have set the foundation for their workforce, creating several avenues for advancement, and expanding training options in every industry and occupation.
Singapore made a concerted effort to better protect vulnerable workers and focused on developing mature workers who have many more years to offer. By learning from the past and from one another, the government, soon, could prepare the country’s workforce for the new skills waves.
Digitalisation is exploding beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. People and businesses shifted to the internet, creating new opportunities while disrupting old ones. Businesses are pivoting to grab new growth, and individuals are being equipped to function in a more digital world. With the digital economy, the prospects for businesses to expand and employees to earn a better life are both feasible.
In a bid to improve online public services, several localities in the country have reduced service charges and assigned targets for online document processing. As per a report by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), currently, all ministries, branches, and localities have public service portals. Over 97% of public services that meet MIC requirements are now provided online at level 4, which allows users to fill in and pay for application forms entirely online.
To improve online public service use efficiency and encourage people to use online services, Ho Chi Minh City last year reduced fees by 50% for six kinds of services. Quang Nam has also decided to reduce fees by 50% for eight types of fees and five types of charges for those who settle administrative procedures through levels 3-4 online public services.
The Hoa Binh province in mid-February assigned targets for online document processing to 27 departments, divisions, branches, and People’s Committees of districts and cities. In 2022, the 27 units aim to have an online document processing ratio of 55%. In mid-March, the Khanh Hoa People’s Committee released a decision on level 3-4 online document processing ratios for departments and localities. The targeted ratios are 45-50% for units under the provincial committee, 35-40% for the units under district people’s committees, and 25-30% for units under ward committees.
The five localities with the highest number of online dossiers from January to April were Quang Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City, Lai Chau, Hoa Binh, and Bac Ninh (55.3%-86.8%). The top five localities with the lowest number of dossiers were Quang Tri, Hai Phong, Kon Tum, Bac Kan, and Dak Nong. Ho Chi Minh City, Hoa Binh, Quang Ninh, Ninh Binh, and Bac Giang had the highest proportions of dossiers processed online. On the other hand, the figures were low for the Hung Yen, Dong Nai, Nghe An, Bac Lieu, and Quang Binh provinces (2.72%-5.76%). According to MIC, though initial results have been gained, online public service efficiency remains low, and the number of dossiers processed online is still modest. As of April, the ratio of online processed documents was only 24.89%.
To further improve digital operations, the Deputy Prime Minister recently signed a directive regarding e-government development. Several relevant agencies have been tasked to prepare infrastructure and fulfil cyber security conditions to connect national databases. As OpenGov Asia reported, they have been instructed to use data for the implementation of online public services by December. Ministries and agencies must work to improve the capacity and quality of services and expand connectivity, surveillance, and access control over data transmission networks by September.
Agencies have also been asked to increase efforts for IPv6 adoption, work on information systems, and establish a communal digital technology network. The evaluation of digital government operations and digital transformation progress at agencies and organisations will be conducted annually in December. The agencies are required to devise measures to encourage the use of digital signatures for administrative procedures. The government will also organise training for at least 100,000 civil servants by December to meet personnel demands.
Aimed at strengthening the company’s commitment to being the Best Life Solution Company, a South Korean firm’s Malaysia branch has teamed up with Universiti Malaya (UM) to continue research into developing and providing life-changing solutions beyond care. This is the firm’s first-ever international research and development (R&D) facility outside South Korea.
Through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed for an Academic-Industrial collaboration between the two parties, the state-of-the-art R&D centre will be located in UM, with multiple labs to carry out water and sleep quality research.
The company aims to tap into the tech talent of professors and students in the Engineering and Science faculties to reach greater heights in its technological innovations. With this R&D centre, the firm can carry out more in-depth research on how to improve its products, with Malaysians in mind. In addition, this partnership will also see internships, consultations, sponsorships, the establishment of laboratories and more.
The Managing Director of the firm’s Malaysia branch stated that this is their first-ever R&D facility outside of South Korea. He added that through the new R&D centre, strategically located in Malaysia, the company will be able to zoom in and focus on producing top-notch home appliances specially curated for Malaysians.
Through this MOU, the company also aims to promote cross-functional understanding between the two parties such as job and internship opportunities for UM graduates as well as the exchange of knowledge between industry experts from South Korea and Malaysia.
The firm’s first R&D centre was established back in 1993 and is housed in Seoul National University Research Park in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the largest R&D centres in the world, equipped with 182 cutting-edge devices and equipment. The facility has also been certified by the Water Quality Association (WQA) in America as a Recognised Testing Laboratory focused on running efficiency and safety tests.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development) of Universiti Malaya stated that all the institution’s students and professors are excited to have the R&D facility set up in UM and are looking forward to this exciting opportunity to share and exchange knowledge with industry experts from South Korea.
The move is in line with UM’s mission to advance knowledge and learning through quality research and education for the nation and to achieve this, UM is intensifying its efforts to enhance the university’s visibility through internationalisation, collaboration and partnerships with strategic industries and stakeholders.
Recent research found that the sleep tech devices market is will grow at a 14.5% CAGR between 2020 and 2030, the global sleep tech devices market revenue is set to reach US$ 49.9 billion by 2030 from US$ 12.8 billion in 2020.
This growth is largely the result of the growing prevalence of sleep disorders, including insomnia, narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea, and parasomnias, around the world. These issues pose a threat to personal safety, school and work performance, relationships, thinking, and mental health and lead to increased body weight, diabetes as well as cardiovascular diseases.
Wearable devices are witnessing greater demand as they have embedded microsensors that continuously track people’s physiological behaviour. The usage of these devices will grow the fastest for the management of sleep apnea, which, as per RT Magazine, has a global incidence of more than 900 million individuals.
Meanwhile, other research found that the global water quality monitoring equipment market is evaluated at US$4.28 billion for the year 2019 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.21% reaching a market size of US$ 5.72 billion by the year 2026.
A major factor fuelling the growth of the water quality monitoring equipment market is the global demand for industrial wastewater treatment solutions. Moreover, the rising global scarcity of fresh water is pushing both public and private sectors to invest heavily in water management systems, thus, fuelling the demand for water quality monitoring equipment. In addition, stringent regulations regarding wastewater treatment also propel the growth of the water quality monitoring equipment market.
Storing agricultural products can be a huge challenge without a regular supply of electricity. To aid one of the nation’s oldest tribes, students and faculty of Taipei Tech have used technology to mitigate power shortages that adversely affect their ability to store agricultural produce.
The proper storage of their harvested produce has always been a challenge to the Quri Indigenous Community. The county in northeastern Taiwan is not only mountainous but also it’s over 80 kilometres away from Taipei. Located at the Hsinchu county’s mountainside, these indigenous people suffer from energy shortages and restricted access to facilities. Being remote also means fewer chances of getting needed services or getting to services.
Lo Ching-lang, the tribe’s leader shared that their community often suffers energy disruptions due to natural disasters such as storms and too much snow that plague them. To make matters worse, repair teams are slow to arrive as they live deep in the mountains. As a result, their agricultural produce is easily lost.
Thanks to a university outreach dubbed University Social Responsibility (USR), students and faculty from the National Taipei University of Technology or Taipei Tech in collaboration with the private sector were able to come up with a timely solution: a smart cellar that can help the community in storing agricultural produce better. Even better, it is a combination of modern technology and the long-held wisdom of the Atayal.
Collaborating with the Taipei Tech team, Lo described a traditional food cellar that his ancestors have been using for a long time. In response, the research team gathered students who specialise in architecture, civil engineering and cold chain systems. Ultimately, they came up with a smart cellar, an improved design of the Atayal food cellar storage system.
A university professor at Taipei Tech observed that the researchers were able to come up successfully with a smart cold-chain storage system ensuring lowered field heat and cold chain transfers. The facility was built using composite building materials that not only are eco-friendly but also moisture-resistant. Instead of using traditional soil cellar walls, they installed hardy cement equipped with thermal sensors to monitor the humidity. They also attached a water facility to implement cold water piping and a system so data can be obtained when needed.
The smart cellar took about half a year to be built. However, it should be all worth it as the produce sent directly from the farm can last for longer. According to Lo, yields sent there can stay fresh for up to “7 to 10 days”. That should enable them to be able to sell to more direct buyers instead of those thrifty wholesalers.
Digital can be of help to just about every sector of society. Recently, a Taiwan AI-based health monitoring system has become a lifesaver for critically-ill patients. Doctors and nurses can attend to people who are in the ICU better as they can be alerted hours before a patient goes into a state of shock.
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