Singapore parks $182m for fintech; SenseTime explores dual listing

#China #HongKong - SenseTime Group Ltd., China’s largest artificial intelligence company, is exploring a dual listing in Hong Kong and China as it closes in on $1.5 billion of pre-IPO financing, according to people familiar with the matter. (Bloomberg)

#China #US #smartspeakers - Q2 2020 was a mixed quarter for the smart speaker market, which continues to be dominated by Amazon and Google, with China’s Baidu however looking like a bigger and bigger threat. According to the preliminary results published by Strategy Analytics on Tuesday, worldwide sales reached 30 million units during Q2. (PhoneArea)

#China #smartspeakers - According to market consultancy All View Cloud, smart speaker sales reached 19.08 million units during the first six months of this year in China, up 22.7 percent on a yearly basis, while sales revenue stood at 3.56 billion yuan ($511.6 million), up 18.3 percent year-on-year. (China Daily)

#Singapore #fintech - Singapore rolls out new three-year plan with SG$250 million ($182.1 million) investment to drive technology innovation in the financial services industry, which saw 40 innovation labs and 1,000 fintech companies set up in the last five years. (ZDNet)

#Singapore #equities - HSBC Singapore has launched the AI Powered US Equity 5 Index (AiPEX5) and the bank’s first index-linked Structured Note to utilise AI as a method for equity investing. (International Investment)

#SouthKorea #Covid-19 - South Korea has opened a high-tech new front in the battle against coronavirus, fortifying bus shelters in the capital with temperature-checking doors and ultraviolet disinfection lamps. The door will slide open only if passengers’ temperature is below 37.5C. (The Guardian)

#Japan #UMS - The human race is about to witness another mobility revolution, according to the former Toyota Motor Corp. engineer who now heads the ambitious startup called SkyDrive Inc. (Japan Times)

#SouthKorea #AVs - A joint venture between the Hyundai Motor Group and Dublin’s Aptiv has been named. It will be known as Motional.  The 50:50 joint venture, which was formed last year and is specializing in self-driving vehicles, was valued initially at $4 billion, with Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and Hyundai Mobis investing a total of $1.6 billion in cash and $400 million in technology. (Korea Joongang Daily)

#Singapore #AVs - Driverless two-seater cars are expected to ply the roads of Punggol next year as part of a trial.  Developed by the QIQ Global startup company, these electric-powered and semi-autonomous vehicles are meant for traveling short distances. (Coconuts)

#Singapore #R&D - Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed an AI system that recognises hand gestures by combining skin-like electronics with computer vision. (Eureka Alert)

#China #EU #USA #geopolitics - China’s recent actions in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) have driven European countries closer to Washington’s position about dangers posed by Beijing, John Demers, the US assistant attorney general for national security, said on Wednesday. (SCMP)

#China #US #tradewar #TikTokban - U.S. and Chinese negotiators are set to discuss implementation of the phase one trade deal in the coming days, with Beijing pushing for the recent measures targeting businesses including TikTok and WeChat to be on the agenda. (TIME)

#India #agriculture - The Telangana government on Wednesday launched the Artificial Intelligence for Agricultural Innovation (AI4AI) programme in collaboration with the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, India (C4IR), World Economic Forum. (Times of India)