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Tag: asia

  • WhatsApp might let you share voice notes as status updates

    WhatsApp might let you share voice notes as status updates

    As you probably know, typing messages is old-school. Sending voice messages is the way to chat with your friends these days. It takes less time to compose such a message, and you can do it on the go, even while driving.

    In WhatsApp, you can send a recorded voice message to a friend, which is great, right? But you can’t use a voice message as a status update. This means that if you want to convey a note to all of your contacts, you will still need to type your thoughts on a virtual keyboard. And if you are tired of doing that, you will be happy to learn that WhatsApp might soon let you create voice notes as status updates.

    As WABetaInfo first reported, WhatsApp is releasing the ability to share voice notes as status updates to some beta testers with version 2.23.2.8 of the WhatsApp beta app for Android. The voice notes have a maximum length of 30 seconds and disappear after 24 hours, just like the text, photos, videos, and GIF status options.

    In terms of privacy, the new addition to the status updates is also end-to-end encrypted, and only the people chosen in your privacy settings will be able to listen to your shared voice messages. Also, you will be able to delete a shared voice note at any given time.

    As we can see from the images below, the new status update feature will be accessible within the text status section. The beta testers that currently have this function enabled also have a new microphone icon that allows them to record a voice note. Furthermore, it appears that you will be able to listen to your recording and discard it if you wish before sharing it.

    According to WABetaInfo, the feature will be rolled out to more users in the coming weeks.

  • AI solutions help reduce traffic accidents

    AI solutions help reduce traffic accidents

    VinAI’s Driver Technology Software provides drivers with a 360-degree view of all surroundings, including blind spots, to help avoid traffic accidents.

    At the recent 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas (U.S.), VinAI showcased two smart driving features – Automatic Mirror Adjustment (AMA) and Jelly View, a 360-degree view mode. AMA is the world’s first auto mirror adjustment feature, according to a VinAI announcement.

    These are the two newest features of the Driver and Occupants Monitoring System (DMS/OMS) and Advanced Surround View Monitoring (SVM). Both are in-vehicle solution suites that apply AI to reduce traffic accidents and improve the driving experience.

    VinAI applies infrared cameras, vehicle sensors, and facial expression analysis technology (ranked 6th in the world), which detect the driver’s condition, such as drowsiness or fatigue, and also monitors for risky behaviors, including being distracted or using a phone. As soon as the system detects such issues, the DMS issues different levels of warnings throughout the journey, even when the driver is wearing sunglasses or a mask.DMS is compatible with various hardware platforms, enabling carmakers to easily integrate it into their existing systems without spending too much on transformation.

    The Automatic Mirror Adjustment (AMA) is also an outstanding feature, easily activated with just the touch of a button. AMA can automatically adjust the mirrors on both sides of the car to the perfect position, thanks to the driver’s eye position analysis.

    The system works by estimating the driver’s eye position three-dimensionally. Normally, this problem would require two or more cameras to solve, but VinAI’s advanced system can accurately predict eye position with a single infrared camera.

    The VinAI enhanced 360-degree panoramic view feature (ASVM) helps the driver keep a close eye on the outside world while driving. The driver can also adjust the view using the on-screen control panel by choosing Jelly View mode, a transparent wraparound view. With the support of Jelly View, the driver can observe the entire space surrounding the vehicle: the front, rear, behind and outside, from the trunk to the chassis.

    The system uses AI technology to collect images from four fisheye cameras as well as information from the accelerometer to construct the vehicle’s chassis view in real-time. This helps drivers observe blind spots through the rearview mirrors. From there, users can easily detect obstacles and avoid unexpected accidents on narrow roads, rough roads, or in parking lots.

    The SVM system won the VnExpress Innovation Awards 2022 and is currently being deployed in the VFe34 electric car in Vietnam. The Jelly View feature was first introduced to the public at CES 2023.

    Dr. Bui Hai Hung, General Director of VinAI Artificial Intelligence Research and Application Joint Stock Company, said the new AMA and Jelly View features had received positive reviews from professionals as well as consumers at CES 2023.

    These AI solutions can significantly reduce accidents, which are a big issue not just for Vietnam, but also for the world, including developed countries. This “life-saving” technology is highly applicable.

    VinAI has also developed various AI products in many other fields including smart cities. One such solution includes Smart Edge, an access control solution that uses facial recognition technology. Smart Edge is currently deployed to more than 50,000 people at Vinpearl resorts, Vinhomes Ocean Park, Vinhomes Smart City, and Vinhomes Grand Park. The feature has proven to be over 99% accurate.

    Just three years since its establishment, VinAI has registered 66 patents in Vietnam and the U.S. and has published 107 research papers at the world’s leading AI conferences.

    VinAI was the only Vietnamese company ranked by Thundermark Capital as one of last year’s top 20 leading global AI research companies.

    VinAI’s cutting-edge machine learning-based technology aims to address global needs in various industries, with a focus on automobiles and smart cities.

    VinAI’s cutting-edge machine learning-based technology aims to address global needs in various industries, with a focus on automobiles and smart cities.

    VinAI’s cutting-edge driving technologies, including AMA and Jelly View, were showcased at CES 2023 from January 5 to January 8, offering guests the opportunity to experience these features first-hand in two electric cars, VinFast’s VF8 and VF9. The vehicles were installed with the full set of driver monitoring systems and 360-degree panoramic view systems.

  • Power Struggle Brewing at UBS

    Power Struggle Brewing at UBS

    A recent UBS leadership appointment at the very top of the bank continues to provoke internal resentment.

    There is likely a tug-of-war going on at Switzerland’s largest bank. The ostensible trigger is the current group chief financial officer Sarah Youngwood. She has been under criticism for a while now and questions are increasingly circulating about her competence.

    That fact weighs even more heavily now after it has become common knowledge inside UBS that her application had been rejected by the board of directors several times. When asked, a spokesperson for the bank said: That claim is entirely false.

    According to internal sources, it appears that the US-French dual citizen Youngwood got the top job in the finance department because of the backing of CEO Ralph Hamers.

    Apparently, he managed to push through his external candidate given the strength of his position to the dissatisfaction of a number of board members and even some top executives. A UBS spokesperson refuted the claims and indicated: «These rumors have no basis in fact.

    There continues to be resentment at the highest levels of UBS to this day given Youngwood’s appointment in May 2022. At the same time, Hamers finds himself in an increasingly precarious position, even if UBS officially continues to deny this. From the point of view of certain top executives, doubts have arisen about Hamers related to all this.

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  • IT services fetch FPT $1B in 2022

    IT services fetch FPT $1B in 2022

    At over VND25.5 trillion (US$1.09 billion), information and technology accounted for 58% of tech giant FPT’s revenues last year. Pre-tax profits were up 22.2% at VND3.42 trillion, or 45% of total profits.

    Revenues shot up by 23.4% to VND44 trillion and profits by 20.8% to VND7.6 trillion.

    Sales in key global markets soared, including 50% in the U.S. 36.4% in the Asia Pacific and 16% in Japan.

    FPT signed 31 large foreign contracts worth $5 million or more.

    Its revenues from telecommunications were up 16% at VND14.73 trillion, and from education, up 53% at VND4.71 trillion.

    Last year the company became a strategic shareholder in Japanese business consultancy LTS Inc, which is expected to bolster its digital transformation consultancy capabilities in the Japanese and Asia-Pacific markets.

    Established in 2005, FPT Japan has 2,000 employees and expects to double the headcount by 2025.

    It also targets becoming one of Japan’s top 20 IT services companies by 2025 and revenues of $1 billion by 2027.

  • Samsung Vietnam exports $65B in 2022

    Samsung Vietnam exports $65B in 2022

    Samsung Vietnam exported $65 billion worth of products last year, down 0.8% from 2021.

    The company’s exports accounted for nearly 9% of Vietnam’s total trade turnover of $700 billion last year, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai said during a recent meeting with Park Hark Kyu, president of Samsung Electronics.

    Khai also praised the company’s launch of its R&D center in Hanoi last month, which is Samsung’s biggest such facility in Southeast Asia.

    Park said he has traveled to Vietnam more than 20 times to look for investment opportunities.

    “For the last 10 years, every time I look back, I think that investing in a factory in Thai Nguyen Province was a wise choice,” said Park, referring to the northern locality where Samsung placed its key smartphone manufacturing plant.

    To date, Samsung has invested $18.2 billion in Vietnam and plans to increase the figure to $20 billion.

    Half of Samsung’s smartphones are produced in Vietnam.

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  • Wood exports to hit record of $18B this year

    Wood exports to hit record of $18B this year

    The export turnover of wood and wood products is expected to set a record high of $18 billion in 2023, with wood pellets and woodchips forecast to enter the one-billion U.S. dollar club.

    President of the Vietnam Timber & Forest Products Association (Viforest) Do Xuan Lap said that the figure will represent a 7-9% growth rate.

    To that end, the industry will focus on raising the competitiveness of enterprises by reducing the use of imported wood, applying science and technology to improve labour productivity, and stepping up digital transformation to cut production costs.

    In fact, in the fourth quarter of 2022, the number of orders decreased, and the gloomy atmosphere may linger on until the end of the first quarter of 2023. However, most of the businesses believe that the situation may begin brightening from the second quarter.

    Pellets and woodchips are also hoped to be a motivation for the development of the sector this year.

    Nguyen Thanh Phong, head of the wood pellet branch under the Viforest, said that Vietnam earned over $700 million from exporting nearly 4.7 million tonnes of pellets last year, up 35% in volume and 81% in value year-on-year,

    Currently, Vietnam is the world’s second-biggest exporter of wood pellets, and the export value of this product is predicted to surpass $1 billion this year.

  • Vietnam Airlines adds 108 flights for Tet

    Vietnam Airlines adds 108 flights for Tet

    Vietnam Airlines has expanded its Tet schedule for a fourth time with 108 additional flights with 20,000 seats.

    The airline said most of the flights are from HCMC and Hanoi to Vinh, Thanh Hoa, Hai Phong, Da Nang, and Hue.

    In all there will 9,200 flights with 1.9 million seats between January 1 and February 5.

    Vietnam Airlines had earlier announced three additions in August and December for Tet in late January.

    Other carriers like Vietjet, Bamboo Airways and Vietravel Airlines have also added flights.

    Data from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam showed that more than 90% of seats on flights from HCMC to central and northern destinations between January 14-21 had been booked as of January 12.

    Many people from the central provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Quang Binh work in the southern city and return to their hometown to celebrate Tet with their family.

  • Apple South Korea’s sales up 3.3 percent to $5.9 billion

    Apple South Korea’s sales up 3.3 percent to $5.9 billion

    Data showed Monday that Apple Korea’s sales rose slightly to 7.3 trillion won ($5.9 billion) last year.

    The Korean unit of U.S. tech giant Apple Inc. logged 7.3 trillion won in sales from Oct. 1, 2021, to Sept. 30, 2022, up from 7.1 trillion won the previous one-year period, according to its audit report filing.

    Net income for the cited period stood at 112.9 billion won, down slightly from a net profit of 124.3 billion won the previous year.

    The company’s operating profit dropped 23 percent on-year to 86.1 billion won from 111.5 billion won over the cited period, with an operating profit margin of 1.2 percent.

    A total 124.3 billion won in dividends was given to its U.S. headquarters and other overseas units, according to the filings.

    Apple Korea paid 50.3 billion won in corporate taxes for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 last year.

  • Samsung introduces the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 200MP camera sensor

    Samsung introduces the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 200MP camera sensor

    On Tuesday Samsung introduced its third 200MP camera sensor, the ISOCELL HP2. The sensor features 200 million 0.6-micrometer (μm) pixels using a 1/1.3-inch optical format. This is a sensor size that is deployed in 108MP main smartphone cameras allowing users of high-end smartphones to have a high-resolution camera without having to deal with large camera bumps. The HP2 has already entered mass production
    The sensor uses advanced pixel-binning technology called Tetra2pixel. This allows the sensor to change pixel sizes depending on the environment’s light. Under low-light conditions, the sensor captures 50MP images at 1.2μm (4:1 pixel binning) or 12.5MP images at 2.4μm (16:1 pixel binning).
    For video, Samsung adds, “For fuller 8K video, approximately at 33MP, the HP2 switches to 1.2μm 50MP mode to minimize cropping and capture more of the scene. Filming 8K at 30 frames-per-second (fps), a wide field of view along with bigger pixel size can produce sharp cinematic videos.”
    Samsung’s new Dual Vertical Transfer Gate (D-VTG) technology will enhance color reproduction and reduce overexposure. As a result, you’ll see fewer washed-out photographs snapped under bright lighting conditions.
    Focusing in low-light environments will be vastly improved thanks to the HP2’s Super QPD feature which uses all of the sensor’s 200 million pixels as focusing agents. The result is faster and more accurate auto-focusing even in an environment without much light. Samsung explains, “The ample amount of focusing agents are grouped by four adjacent pixels to recognize horizontal and vertical pattern changes.”
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  • Netflix app has just become more fluid on iPhone

    Netflix app has just become more fluid on iPhone

    Netflix has made headlines quite a few times in the last couple of months, but we’ve mostly talked about the company’s attempts to prevent password sharing and its new ad-based plan, which might or might not be as popular as it was expected.

    Today’s headline is about the Netflix app, the gateway to the service’s library of entertainment and the first thing customers see before diving deep into their favorite TV shows and movies. This is why the app is getting updates all the time, some adding new features, while others simply improving already existing perks.

    Early this week, a new update for the Netflix app dropped, although it’s limited to iOS. The good news is the update is supposedly making the app more fluid, as seen in the video embedded below. Also, former Netflix UI designer Janum Trivedi revealed some of the changes he worked on last year before leaving the company.

    Here are some of the most significant changes included in this update, besides the under-the-hood improvements that make the app run more fluid than ever:

    • New billboard layout responds as you move your device, with a subtle lighting effect
    • Beautiful wallpaper gradients that are created on-the-fly from the art
    • A new card transition that’s fully interruptible/interactive
    • New launch/profile animations, haptics, and more

    Meanwhile, Netflix’s new Basic plan with ads is available for customers in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and United Kingdom. Depending on how well the adoption among customers will go, we’ll probably see the new ad-based plan introduced in other territories.

    Surprisingly, Netflix’s cheapest plan doesn’t work on Apple TV yet, regardless of location. Perhaps that will change in the future, but we currently have no explanation as to why it doesn’t work yet.

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  • Hanoi ride-hailing services struggle to cope with Tet demand

    Hanoi ride-hailing services struggle to cope with Tet demand

    Hanoians are struggling to book ride-hailing and delivery services during the runup to Tet (Lunar New Year holidays).

    Hoang Viet of Nam Tu Liem District had an interminable wait before he could get a motorbike on a ride-hailing app on January 15 evening.

    He said: “The apps kept saying all drivers nearby were busy. It took me nearly an hour for a motorbike driver to accept my trip.”

    On the morning of January 16, Nguyen Linh of Tay Ho District had to wait longer than usual to get a GrabCar and the fare had nearly doubled from just a few days ago.

    On January 15 morning, Phuong Anh, who sells Tet gifts, could not find drivers to deliver goods to her customers though fares were higher than usual amid.

    Seeing the surging demand, more ride-hailing and delivery firms have decided to apply surcharges during Tet, Vietnam’s biggest festival, which this year is celebrated from January 20-26.

    Grab has a surcharge of VND5,000 ($0.21) on motorbike rides and delivery orders and VND15,000 on taxi rides.

    Other ride-hailing companies Be and Gojek charge VND5,000-20,000 extra, and delivery service provider Baemin charges VND10,000.

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  • Gold prices increase

    Gold prices increase

    SJC gold prices gained 0.15% to VND67.3 million ($2,871.46) per tael Tuesday morning.

    Gold ring prices went up 0.18% to VND55.45 million per tael. A tael equals 37.5 grams or 1.2 ounces.

    Global gold prices inched lower on Tuesday, weighed by an uptick in the dollar, although hopes of slower interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve capped further losses.

    Spot gold was down 0.4% at $1,910.48 per ounce. The dollar gained 0.3%. A stronger dollar turns gold less attractive to buyers with other currencies.

    “Expectations of the Fed slowing pace of rate hikes has been supporting gold. Currently, we are seeing a technical pullback as prices entered the overbought territory. Also, the dollar is firming slightly,” said Ajay Kedia, director at Kedia Commodities, Mumbai.

    “We expect silver to outperform gold in 2023 as there is good industrial and investment demand amid low inventories.”

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  • Japanese lender reduces stake in Eximbank

    Japanese lender reduces stake in Eximbank

    Japanese giant Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation has sold a 10.8% stake in Vietnam’s Eximbank, reducing its ownership to 4.27%.

    It sold 132.8 million EIB shares at VND27,750 ($1.18) on January 13, according to a release by the Vietnamese bank.

    The value of the deal is estimated at around VND3.4 trillion.

    SMBC became a strategic shareholder in Eximbank in 2007, but withdrew its representative in 2019 due to some disagreements.

    In February last year, Eximbank pulled the plug on its strategic partnership with SMBC.

    On Monday it attempted to organize an extraordinary shareholders meeting to appoint three new directors, but could not get the quorum of 65%.

    It is planning for another meeting on February 14.

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  • Hyundai conquers Vietnam’s city car market

    Hyundai conquers Vietnam’s city car market

    South Korea’s Hyundai dominated Vietnam’s small urban car market last year after Vietnamese and Japanese manufacturers stopped selling A-segment models.

    The European Commission defines the A-segment as city cars, the smallest category of passenger cars.

    Last year in Vietnam, Hyundai sold 10,752 units of its i10 model, while local Vietnamese manufacturer VinFast sold 10,661 Fadils, its most popular model.

    The Fadil was Vietnam’s best-selling car in 2021. And it was 2022’s best-selling car through the first half of the year as well, before VinFast took it off the market in mid-July as part of the company’s transition towards manufacturing only electric vehicles. VinFast no longer makes fossil-fuel cars.

    The 2022 car market in Vietnam also saw Kia sell 3,979 of its Morning models, while 1,953 Honda Brios and 488 Toyota Wigos were also sold in the country.

    The two Japanese models on the list, Brio and Wigo, were also taken off the market in the second half of last year because their engines did not meet the Euro 5 emission standards required by the Vietnamese government.

    Brio had been on the Vietnamese market for more than 3 years, but the model hadn’t changed since a facelift in 2020. It is scheduled to go on sale in Vietnam again later this year.

    VinFast plans to replace the Fadil with a small electric CUV model called the VF 5. It will cost VND458 million ($19,407), excluding the battery, and deliveries will begin in April.

    Imported Japanese models such as Wigo and Brio have a brand advantage, but their prices are higher than South Korean models assembled in Vietnam.

    In the A-segment, customers are often interested in low initial investment costs and various new version options. Both the Hyundai i10 and Kia Morning meet both of those expectations.

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  • UBS Recruits Impact Investing Executive

    UBS Recruits Impact Investing Executive

    The funds unit of UBS has appointed a head of impact investments for the first time, as finews.com has learned. The experienced executive will be working from the Netherlands.

    UBS is appointing Narina Mnatsakanian as head of Impact Investing, according to a memo seen by finews.com, effective immediately. In the newly created role Mnatsakanian will lead the expansion of UBS Asset Management’s impact investing offering, research and impact measurement capabilities.

    Mnatsakanian joins Lucy Thomas’ team who has was appointed head of sustainability at UBS Asset Management just over a year ago.

    Thomas described the development of the impact area, where the focus is on the actual sustainable impact of investments, as a strategic priority.

    The new appointee previously headed sustainability & impact investment at independent Dutch asset manager Van Lanschot Kempen. Before Kempen, Mnatsakanian worked at private equity funds and as an asset manager for Dutch pension funds. She also led the global networks & outreach department at the UN Principles for Responsible Investment network.

    Mnatsakanian becomes a member of sustainable investing’s leadership team and is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, it added.

    UBS reorganized its sustainability offering in mid-2021, appointing Michael Baldinger as the bank’s chief sustainability officer. He has the coordinator role, while the individual initiatives are based in the bank’s divisions. Suni Harford, the head of asset management, acts as a sponsor for sustainability and impact concerns on the UBS group executive board.

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