September Tech Round-up: APAC’s Regulators are Ramping Up Tech Scrutiny.
After two decades of light touch regulation during the formative years of the digital revolution, regulators and policy makers are starting to bare their teeth. Europe’s GDPR, a high-profile example, may have brought some of the digital giants to heel, but it has done so at the cost of user experience. And competitors say it has strengthened the hand of the walled gardens, due to their control of first party data.
This month we run the search engine over digital regulation, revealing how approaches differ across the APAC region. Enjoy, from all of us at North Ridge Partners…
What We’ve Been Up To
It’s not just the 2023 Rugby World Cup kicking off this month – it’s mandates, mandates and more mandates.
Partners CB and Roger have headed to Europe and the US to meet with the extended GP Bullhound team and showcase clients to investors there (no rugby, unfortunately!) whilst our Singapore and Sydney teams prep several M&A and growth capital transactions for launch.
Original Thinking from North Ridge Partners
Privacy policy, media laws, digital platform regulation, crypto, and even taxation are under the microscope as law makers and regulators in Singapore, New Zealand, Thailand and Indonesia look to bring the global digital giants to heel.
Meanwhile in Australia the Attorney General has proposed sweeping privacy changes, while a powerful Senate Committee wants to rein in social media companies and has proposed what would be considered a quasi-ban on TikTok.
Big Tech News
Nvidia delivers, saying chip sales are set to surge.
The 4% solution: Meta and Alphabet are howling about Canada’s plans to force Big Tech to share its bounty with media outlets.
Zero to hero: OpenAI is on track to generate US$1bn in revenues over the next year.
Meanwhile, Apple shares slump as the PRC Government encourages employees to abandon the iPhone as local hero Huawei releases two new Smartphones.
Asia Pacific Tech News
Alibaba reports its best quarterly revenue result for two years as Tencent disappoints.
Indonesia casts a wary eye on TikTok’s social commerce Project S, claiming concerns about its impact on local industry.
Regional Governments ramp up tech regulation with Singapore’s MAS regulating stablecoins, Indonesia establishing a crypto exchange and clearing house and now the Kiwis, legislating to force digital giants to the negotiating table.
From farming to flavours – Southeast Asia’s AI first movers find opportunities in food production.
Stuff We Found Interesting
Big Tech remains split about WFH. Amazon’s Andy Jassy is talking tough, while Atlassian’s Scott Farquhar is still a believer.
Meta smacks back at Chinese ‘spamouflage’ in Australia and elsewhere.
Now this is wild - Japanese firm Obayashi Corp reveals plans to build a Space Elevator by 2050.
Tech investment banking across Asia Pacific
North Ridge Partners works with technology companies across the Asia Pacific to achieve transformational outcomes through providing strategic financial advice, advising on M&A transactions and raising capital services. We’re experienced deal makers who have built, run, and sold numerous technology companies.
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