Latest news and trends about tech

The World Bank Group’s private-sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), is partnering with OCI TerraSus Sdn. Bhd., a subsidiary of South Korea’s OCI Holdings, to build Southeast Asia’s first semiconductor-grade polysilicon plant in Malaysia, backed by $125 million in IFC funding.

Operational advantage will come less from having AI in the stack than from knowing how to organize around it. The businesses that get this right are likely to be the ones that treat unified fraud and AML workflows not as a technical aspiration, but as part of the operating foundation for resilient growth.

Vietnam applies a 0.1% personal income tax on the value of each digital asset transaction, according to the Ministry of Finance’s Circular 32/2026.

The global push for tokenized money is entering a new, more mature phase. According to a recent UOB report, industry expectations are shifting from isolated pilots toward scalable operating models underpinned by five key drivers, captured in the acronym SCALE: Standards, Compliance, Access, Linked infrastructures, and Ecosystem.

Japan's automotive manufacturer Toyota is set to invest $360 million in building a hybrid vehicle line within its factory in Vietnam, Toyota Vietnam CEO Hirata Osamu said.

StarMason JSC, a joint venture between Singapore's Sembcorp Development and Vietnam's BB Holdings, has received investment approval for the proposed development of a state-of-the-art hyperscale- and AI-ready data center campus in Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP), Ho Chi Minh City.

Thailand’s Trade Competition Commission (TCCT) has introduced new guidelines for e-commerce platforms, setting out standards on pricing and business conduct aimed at curbing unfair trade practices and preventing market dominance in the country’s fast-growing digital economy.

Kenanga Research has on Friday downgraded Malaysia’s technology sector rating to neutral from overweight as external risks have intensified, particularly from global memory tightness, supply-chain fragility and persistent cost pressure across the value chain.

Malaysia’s national public sector pension fund Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP) is expected to commit up to MYR 190 million ($47.38 million) of capital in Lestari Cooling Energy Sdn. Bhd.

Tazapay, a Singapore-based payment infrastructure provider for emerging markets, announced the close of its Series B extension led by Circle Ventures, bringing total Series B funding to $36 million.