While Cambodia might be pulling out all the stops to develop its smart cities, the lack of an integrated master plan is hampering these efforts.The ASEAN Smart Cities Framework defines a smart city as one that harnesses technological, digital solutions and innovative, non-technological means to address urban challenges – continuously improving people’s lives and creating new opportunities.Envisioned in April 2018 as a platform to support the creation of technologically advanced urban areas&am

More efficient waste and traffic management systems are among the best practices that ASEAN can adopt from Korea.The two areas were among the fields in which policy recommendations were proposed at the recently concluded 2019 ASEAN-Korea Youth Network Workshop which gathered 80 university students from 13 countries for 10 days of lectures, site visits, cultural exchange activities and discussions – all with the aim of building cooperation between ASEAN and Korea in developing sustainable smar

The price of Bitcoin surged recently after social media giant Facebook, unveiled its very own digital currency, Libra, in June 2019. The announcement came together with a white paper, ‘An introduction to Libra,’ which details the project’s vision.Facebook’s Libra is a cryptocurrency created for instant transfer with almost no fees to anywhere in the world.

A homegrown Vietnamese social media app was overloaded with users hours after launching as the one-party state tries to boost its own web platforms while tightening its grip on internet freedoms.Gapo has been billed as a local version of Facebook, which is wildly popular in communist Vietnam with more than 53 million registered users in the country of 95 million.But the social media giant, along with Google, YouTube and other global tech firms, is facing stricter scrutiny after a draconian cy

Malaysia is embracing the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) with a focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI), as seen at the recent Beyond Paradigm Summit 2019 in Kuala Lumpur. Organised by Serba Dinamik Holdings, the summit showcased advanced Industry 4.0 technologies and the world's first social humanoid robot, Sophia.Sophia is an artificially intelligent robot who was named the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Innovation Champion in 2017.

With its steadily growing economy, surge in technological development and solid reputation as a start-up hub, it should come as no surprise that Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City has become the latest city to join Singapore’s Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) network.Launched in 2017, the GIA is aimed at providing Singaporeans, students, entrepreneurs and businesses with the opportunity to gain overseas experience, connect and collaborate with their foreign counterparts. Contributing 45 perc

Southeast Asia’s e-commerce market is well on its way to exceeding Google’s prediction of hitting US$200 billion in value by 2025, with e-commerce players such as Lazada, Shopee, and Tokopedia expanding their efforts in the region to meet ever-growing customer demands.

Cryptocurrency is a decentralised virtual currency that is deemed to be more efficient than traditional currencies because it is regulated by a community of users. The top 100 cryptocurrencies have a current market value of about US$200 billion according to CoinMarketCap, a site that provides up-to-the-minute updates for digital market data.

Hundreds of "friendly" robots that speak multiple languages and sing are being rolled out across hi-tech Singapore, to help clean the city-state's hotels, shopping malls and government buildings.Four of the robots, which have oval-shaped heads with lights for eyes, have already got down to work and it is hoped that 300 will be put into service by March next year.They scrub, mop, vacuum and sweep autonomously, and can entertain by rapping in English.The robots speak all four of

The millennial generation of Southeast Asia comprises of half of the region’s 644 million population. The region’s high internet penetration and growing middle class is driving the adoption of digital financial services.