ChatGPT’s teen experience begins rolling out to Singapore
Age prediction, added content safeguards and optional parental controls put product design—not only policy—at the centre of the youth AI-safety debate.
Southeast Asia Connect
News
Named and dated developments across Southeast Asia.
Tech Data wins IBM distribution growth award for Asia Pacific
The 2026 IBM Partner Plus recognition points to the distributor’s role in helping regional partners take AI and hybrid-cloud systems into customer environments.
Indonesia prepares electric-motorcycle incentive, but regulation is still pending
The Industry Ministry says it is ready to administer a proposed Rp5 million incentive for local electric-vehicle manufacturing, while the amount, eligible brands and start date still depend on a Finance Ministry regulation.
Penang plan shifts semiconductor focus towards chip design
The draft 2040 structure plan targets higher-value design, system architecture and prototype development while building local technology suppliers around the state’s manufacturing base.
Indonesia expands digital social-aid registration to 153 districts
The operating rollout covers all 38 provinces and is intended to improve targeting for two large assistance programmes, with expansion to other benefits still planned.
Indonesia develops N219 aircraft options for remote medical access
BRIN and PTDI are refining land and amphibious versions of the locally developed aircraft, with a flying-ambulance role still presented as a future application.
Indonesia tests coal waste as a source of battery-grade graphite
BRIN researchers report 96.8 per cent structural conformity in artificial graphite made from coal waste, an early research result aimed at a more local electric-vehicle battery supply chain.
Vietnam sets target to train 10 million workers in AI skills
The 2030 plan links mass workplace training with a smaller pipeline of applied specialists and core-technology experts, creating a test of whether digital policy reaches real jobs.
White House report puts Thai export traceability under scrutiny
The report names Thailand in a transshipment-risk tier. That classification is a US government allegation, not an independently verified finding.
Singapore shares gain as growth strengthens the market case
The city-state’s equities have combined defensive balance sheets and dividends with a stronger economic backdrop, though the rally remains exposed to global risks.
Hoa Phat earnings rise alongside Vietnam public investment
Hoa Phat's first-half result and Vietnam's public-investment data are parallel indicators of industrial capacity and infrastructure execution; the sources do not prove one caused the other.
Vietnam sets a technology-cooperation strategy around local capability
The government wants international partnerships to bring knowledge, technology and experts into priority fields including AI, semiconductors, robotics and advanced energy.