Policy News

South Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics which is the flagship subsidiary of Samsung Group has reported that it has achieved a record $14.7bn in Q1 operating profit.

Chinese investors are calling on regulators to relax rules on initial public offerings (IPOs) by technology firms. The stifling draconian measures currently in place have been blasted by some investors who say the time has come for them to change their policy and approach.

India’s government has officially confirmed that it has been subjected to a cybersecurity infiltration. India’s defense minister said that the department’s website was hacked along with the web portals of at least three other government departments believed to be interior, law and labor ministries websites.

Hong-Kong professor Dr. Winnie Tang has launched her highly-acclaimed Smart City 3.0 e-book which attempts to examine and establish the role played by Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Robotics and the sharing economy in the development and future evolution of smart cities on a global basis.

Cambridge University has announced it has agreed to partner with Nanjing Municipal Government to create a smart cities research center which will be located in China. The collaboration will see both bodies examining how emerging technologies can support a modern 21st century city that has an integrated ecosystem that consists of IT, healthcare and building management.

The Taiwan 5G Alliance – linking together more than 40 corporations and organizations from the government, academia, and research sectors – aims to launch pre-commercial 5G networks in 2020 with the vision of building a world-class 5G industry chain in Taiwan that is at the forefront of global development and commercial deployment.

The US government has upped its offensive against China with the announcement that it is set to slap tariffs worth up to $60bn on Chinese imports. US president Donald Trump signed an executive memorandum which confirmed the measures that will place tariffs on products predominantly in the technology sector.

Chinese telecommunications colossus Huawei has announced that it has signed a MoU with German city Duisburg in a collaborative effort to develop and subsequently implement a smart city strategy within the city.

Representatives from technology titans Facebook and Google have offered testimony before a parliamentary committee in Singapore in an effort to convince them that the introduction of new laws to combat ‘fake news’ would not have the desired effect.

Hong Kong has released its smart city blueprint following months of consultations and recommendations as part of its efforts to become a world-class smart city. It has been announced that a dedicated Smart City Office will be established in the Innovation and Technology Bureau which will oversee, manage and coordinate the progress and effectiveness of smart city projects initiated by the department in Hong Kong.