Digital Transformation

Uzbekistan is trying to position itself as a technology hub for Central Asia, combining tax incentives, sector-specific tech parks, a young workforce and closer regional ties. A key part of that push is “Enterprise Uzbekistan,” a free zone for technology companies and financial organizations that is expected to operate under English common law.

Chile, New Zealand, Singapore and the Republic of Korea, Parties to the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), have welcomed Costa Rica as the DEPA’s fifth Party, and the second member to accede to the agreement.

Hong Kong's first five-year plan sets out AI governance, fintech infrastructure, startup funding and commercialization measures through 2030.

foodpanda has launched an AI plugin that lets users discover restaurants and meal options through ChatGPT and Claude using real-time platform availability.

Cebu Pacific says its enterprise AI program with Thinking Machines and OpenAI has cut processing time across legal, engineering and project-intake workflows.

Cloudflare introduced separate controls for search indexing, AI training and agents, letting customers reject model training while remaining in search results.

Salesforce has unveiled AIforce, a live interface layer that exposes governed CRM data and workflows through Claude, Slack and Agentforce interfaces.

Allfunds says its HSBC-backed same-day settlement service for Hong Kong-domiciled money market funds went live in August 2026.

At an SCMP Live panel in Astana, representatives of AIX, HKEX, Alem Capital Management and Gobi Partners discussed how Central Asian companies could connect with international capital, and what a more diversified route beyond traditional resource and trade links might require.

Nvidia and eight Australian infrastructure providers are targeting up to 2GW of AI-factory buildout by 2027, with the operators to run the facilities.