SEA

TikTok Branding Summit SEA links cultural moments to sustained business growth

TikTok's first Southeast Asia Branding Summit brought more than 150 representatives from over 60 brands together in Singapore to discuss turning cultural attention into measurable business outcomes.

Twilio says 70 percent of APAC consumers abandon AI service interactions that lack context

Twilio research finds a gap between brands' confidence in AI customer memory and consumers' experience, with 70 percent of APAC consumers saying they often have to start over.

Faster net-zero transition could raise ASEAN+3 corporate credit risks, AMRO says

A faster and more aggressive shift towards net-zero emissions could increase corporate credit risks across ASEAN+3 economies, particularly in energy-intensive sectors, while a more gradual climate transition may give companies greater time to adjust their operations and financial positions, according to the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO)…

Thailand’s Lakeshore Capital closes $305M Fund III for Mekong mid-market deals

Thailand-focused private equity firm Lakeshore Capital has closed its third flagship fund at a $305 million hard cap for growth and buyout investments across Thailand and the Greater Mekong region.

Phone screen asks:

ChatGPT Ads expands into Southeast Asia and Taiwan

OpenAI is expanding ChatGPT Ads into Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan as it broadens self-service advertising access in Asia.

Klook, Visa partner across six Southeast Asian markets on travel experiences

Klook and Visa have signed a memorandum covering Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, combining travel experiences, cardholder offers and creator-led commerce.

Global technology, AI trend help boost Southeast Asia’s growth: ADB

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) raised its 2026 economic growth forecast for developing Southeast Asia to 4.7 percent, crediting the global technology and artificial-intelligence (AI) investment cycle and resilient electronics exports.

Ofiniti to acquire ZeroNorth eBDN business as it expands in Singapore

Ofiniti has agreed to acquire ZeroNorth's electronic bunker delivery note business, including Singapore-based BTS, and move its customers onto Ofiniti's Bunker Operating System.

ASEAN leads AI observability adoption but teams lose 47 percent of capacity to disruptions, New Relic says

New Relic says 66 percent of surveyed ASEAN organizations have deployed AI application observability and 59 percent use AI-assisted troubleshooting, while engineering teams lose a median 47 percent of capacity to system disruptions.

UnionPay says ASEAN QR acceptance network now covers over 38M merchants

UnionPay says its acceptance network now spans all ten ASEAN countries and more than 38 million QR merchants as it expands cross-border payment links across the region.