ASEAN Tech

Sea's three engines fire at once: Shopee, Monee and Garena drive a 47 per cent revenue jump

Singapore's Sea Limited posted first-quarter revenue of US$7.1 billion, up 47 per cent, as its e-commerce, fintech and gaming arms grew together for the first time in years. Shopee booked a record US$37.3 billion in goods sold, Monee's loan book grew 70 per cent, and Garena had its strongest quarter in five years.

1 Jun 2026 · 3 min read

AI & ML

FPT and Charoen Pokphand Foods Deploy Agentic AI Across Vietnam's Largest Agri-Food Supply Chain

FPT Corporation and Charoen Pokphand Foods signed an MoU in Bangkok on 28 May 2026 to wire agentic AI and industrial IoT through C.P. Vietnam's integrated Feed-Farm-Food chain — 12 feed mills, two slaughterhouses, and six food processing plants — targeting a 20% operational cost reduction and full food safety traceability.

1 Jun 2026 · 5 min read

ASEAN Tech

Tonik Becomes First Standalone Digital Bank in the Philippines to Turn Profitable

Five years after launch and without a conglomerate backstop, Tonik Digital Bank reported positive consolidated cash net income for Q1 2026 — a first for any standalone digital bank in the Philippines — on a US$110M loan book growing at 2.3× year-on-year.

1 Jun 2026 · 4 min read

ASEAN Tech

Thailand's First Virtual Bank Licence Goes to CLICX — KTB, AIS, and OR Joint Venture Launches 19 June

Thailand's first virtual bank licence has been issued: CLICX — the KTB, AIS, and OR joint venture — received its operating licence from the Bank of Thailand on 14 May 2026 and opens its mobile app on 19 June, targeting the 63% of Thais underserved by traditional banking.

1 Jun 2026 · 4 min read

ASEAN Tech

Grab Takes Majority Control of Indonesia's Superbank as Singtel Transfers Its Stake to GXS

Grab Holdings will consolidate Indonesia's Superbank — a six-million-customer digital lender with IDR 24 trillion in assets — into its Financial Services segment after Singtel Alpha Investments transfers its Superbank stake to GXS Bank, pushing Grab's combined ownership above 50%.

1 Jun 2026 · 4 min read

ASEAN Tech

Vietnam Proposes Crypto and Digital Assets as SME Loan Collateral in $144 Billion Credit Market

Vietnam's Ministry of Finance is consulting on draft legislation that would let SMEs pledge digital assets, virtual assets, and intellectual property as bank collateral — a structural fix for a credit market where 98% of businesses receive only 19–20% of total lending.

1 Jun 2026 · 5 min read

ASEAN Tech

Hong Kong's First Astronaut Is a Police Computer-Forensics PhD — and She's Now Aboard China's Tiangong Station

When Shenzhou-23 lifted off on 24 May 2026, one of the three people aboard was Lai Ka-ying — a serving Hong Kong Police superintendent whose 2011 doctoral thesis was titled "Profiling Internet Pirates." Hong Kong's first astronaut did not come up through an air-force cockpit. She came up through computer forensics.

30 May 2026 · 4 min read

ASEAN Tech

MAS Issues Binding GenAI Banking Guidelines — Five-Bank Sandbox, Cross-Border Implications for ASEAN Finance

The Monetary Authority of Singapore published its long-awaited binding guidelines on generative AI use by banks on Tuesday. Five banks — DBS, OCBC, UOB, Standard Chartered and HSBC Singapore — enter the supervisory sandbox immediately.

20 May 2026 · 8 min read

ASEAN Tech

Grab Rolls Out ML Dispatch v3 Across Six SEA Markets — Driver Earnings Up 4%, Indonesia Drivers Cry Foul

Grab's revamped dispatch system began rolling across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam on Monday. Internal data shows 4% higher driver earnings on average, but Indonesia's driver unions say the new logic favours four-wheelers over motorcycle riders.

19 May 2026 · 8 min read