Samsung has been building an additional production line in the region with a budget of 1.7 trillion won ($1.2 billion) since 2022…reports Asian Lite News
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong has emphasised the importance of “bold” investments during a visit to Samsung SDI’s battery production line in Malaysia, the company said on Monday.
The visit was made in Lee’s first overseas trip since he was cleared of all charges in a court ruling on the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates allegedly conducted to help him take over control of South Korea’s biggest conglomerate.
“We should not be focusing solely on short-term performances, but rather lead changes by rolling out bold challenges,” Lee was quoted by Samsung Electronics as saying during the visit to the factory in Seremban, 65 kms south of Kuala Lumpur.
Samsung has been building an additional production line in the region with a budget of 1.7 trillion won ($1.2 billion) since 2022, reports Yonhap news agency.
Lee also visited Kuala Lumpur to check local consumers’ responses to the company’s latest Galaxy S24 smartphone, the company added.
Last week, prosecutors appealed a recent court acquittal of Samsung Chairman Jae-yong in a controversial Samsung affiliate merger case.
The prosecution had demanded a five-year prison sentence for the chief of South Korea’s largest conglomerate.
Meanwhile, Samsung’s fourth-quarter operating profit sank 34.4 per cent from a year earlier due largely to sluggish semiconductor business but its memory chip segment turned to the black on recovering demand.
The company announced the funding as part of its AI Opportunity Initiative for Europe…reports Asian Lite News
Google on Monday announced the 25 million euros ($26.98 million) funding from Google.org to support artificial intelligence (AI) training and skills for people across Europe, with a particular focus on vulnerable and underserved communities.
The company announced the funding as part of its AI Opportunity Initiative for Europe. Google will start by dedicating 10 million euros to equipping workers with the skills they need to avoid being left behind.
“AI has enormous potential to transform the world for the better. Yet research shows that the benefits of AI could exacerbate existing inequalities — especially in terms of economic security and employment,” Adrian Brown, Executive Director, Centre for Public Impact, which is running the nonprofit scheme alongside Google, said in a blogpost.
“This new programme will help people across Europe develop their knowledge, skills and confidence around AI, ensuring that no one is left behind,” he added.
The initiative will also include a new series of Google for Startups Growth Academies across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“The equity-free programme is to support startups using AI to solve society’s biggest challenges, in health, education and cybersecurity,” Google said.
The company is now open for applications for the Growth Academy: AI for Health.
Under the AI Opportunity Initiative, the tech giant is also expanding its AI foundational courses to 18 languages. The courses are free of charge and available to everyone, offering a series of modules on introductory AI skills to help people and businesses get practical skills and knowledge.
The focus will not just be on creating digital infrastructure but also making it accessible and affordable to all sections of society…reports Asian Lite News
The Revanth Reddy Government of Telangana will develop an Artificial Intelligence (AI) City in Hyderabad and will bring a new policy to promote industries and services sectors in the state.
The Revanth Reddy Government would also make the internet a basic right.
The focus will not just be on creating digital infrastructure but also making it accessible and affordable to all sections of society.
These announcements were made by Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan in her address to the joint session of the Legislative Assembly and Council on the first day of the Budget Session.
Stating that the state government was determined to harness the power of new technology, particularly AI, she said it will position Hyderabad and Telangana as the AI capital of the country by inviting the top global and national technology companies to set up their AI centres.
“We will set up a dedicated AI City in 50-100 acres,” she said.
Observing that the state’s massive potential for propelling industrial and service sector growth was only partly tapped, the Governor said the government intends to bring a completely new paradigm to supporting these two vital sectors.
The Telangana Government intends to introduce a new policy that will be based on a thorough study of existing ground realities, feedback from stakeholders, and taking cognisance of global best practices.
Telangana will strive to become a role-model state where new and existing investors face no hurdles not only at the time of entry but also during their continuing operations and future expansions, she said.
She stated that the government will also announce a new policy to help Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with improved technology, the ability to recruit skilled manpower, financing, market access, and the prevention of industrial sickness.
An exclusive institutional mechanism will be set up to handhold MSMEs and support their grievances. Assuring continued support to ‘champion sectors’ like IT and Pharma, she said the government is proposing to set up 10-12 Pharma village clusters, each spread over an area of 1000 to 3000 acres.
She noted that global investors announced over Rs.40,000 crore investments in Telangana at the recent World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, where the Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Industries Minister led a delegation.
The government will also implement a thorough digital literacy program to ensure that every household, regardless of its economic status or location, will be able to benefit from the rapid digital adoption of opportunities that are arising.
The government will lay special emphasis to sectors that have been underutilised as compared to their potential, like leather and footwear, gems and jewellery, chemicals and plastic, engineering goods, FMCG products, high-value food processing, Electric Mobility, and storage and ensure that dedicated industrial parks and supporting ecosystems are created for each.
According to a top priority to skill training and vocational education to address skill gaps and meet the requirements of Industry 4.0, the government will transform all government ITIs in the state into Advanced Technology Centres, with an estimated cost of about Rs. 2,000 crore.
These centres will offer NCVT-approved long-term and short-term courses in high demand trades and will benefit nearly one lakh youth in Telangana.
Skill universities will be established across the state to prepare a skilled and empowered workforce. These skill universities will serve as centres of excellence, equipping our youth with the necessary knowledge and expertise to meet the demands of a rapidly-evolving job market.
To increase the energy share from clean energy, the government will come up with a comprehensive energy policy to promote all types of green energy like solar, wind, hybrid (solar and wind), as well as storage (pumped or battery) to meet peak requirements.
UBS said on Tuesday that it is now targeting $13 billion in savings by the end of 2026…reports Asian Lite News
Swiss lender UBS has deepened a cost-cutting drive launched after its emergency acquisition of rival Credit Suisse, as it slashes thousands of jobs and tries to boost earnings to make sure the mammoth deal pays off, a media report said.
UBS said on Tuesday that it is now targeting $13 billion in savings by the end of 2026 — $3 billion more than what it had announced six months ago, CNN reported.
The savings will provide “necessary capacity for reinvestment to reinforce the resilience of our infrastructure as we absorb Credit Suisse and to drive sustainable growth by investing in talent, products and services”, it added.
The additional cost reductions are likely to mean thousands more job cuts. Already, UBS has slashed headcount in the fourth quarter by more than 3,100 to under 113,000, taking the number of layoffs announced last year above 16,000. The bank shed 3,000 jobs in Switzerland alone in 2023.
“The year 2023 was a defining one in UBS’s history with the acquisition of Credit Suisse,” CEO Sergio Ermotti said in a statement, CNN reported.
“As we move to the next phase of our journey, we will focus on restructuring and optimising the combined businesses. While our progress over the next three years will not be measured in a straight line, our strategy is clear,” Ermotti added.
The government also plans to soon establish the India Semiconductor Research Centre….reports Asian Lite News
The government on Saturday launched the ‘Digital India FutureLABS’ initiative that will enable partnerships between the government, startups and large enterprises to foster the next-generation electronics design ecosystem, thus catalysing the next wave of startups from the country.
Launching the initiative that aims to boost India’s electronics and IT sector by establishing a research and innovation framework, promoting leadership in standards, IPs, systems and platforms, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, said that India has been at the forefront of building technologies, intellectual properties and solutions for its citizens as well as for the world.
“Digital India FutureLABS is the last piece of a framework in an architecture that our Prime Minister Narendra Modi put together long back. That started way back in 2015 with ‘Digital India’ launch and many years of creating an enabling framework to make India a trusted hub for manufacturing electronics for the consumers of the world,” Chandrasekhar told the packed house at the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT)-Delhi here.
‘Digital India FutureLABS’ will be coordinated by C-DAC to provide the dedicated thrust to following key growth areas — automotive, compute, communication, strategic electronics and Industrial electronics/IoT.
’Digital India FutureLABS’ is the last important foundational block to position India as the world leader in technology and showcase Indian entrepreneurs’ innovation skills, said the minister.
FutureLABS would help build high-performance, globally competitive systems that would be in addition to having the characteristics of being affordable, low cost and trusted.
The government also plans to soon establish the India Semiconductor Research Centre.
“Semiconductor research will also be something that India will focus on. And now we have ‘Digital India FutureLABS’ that will round off, in a sense, our ambition of making sure there is an Indian flag on almost every piece and slice of the technology innovation ecosystem in the coming decade,” the minister noted.
The ‘Digital India FutureLABS’ programme will also include tier 1 suppliers and automotive industrial platforms, focusing on designing and innovating systems for the future.
It focuses on strengthening the domestic innovation ecosystem through collaboration, driving sustainable growth and fostering technological progress.
Microsoft now has 53,000 Azure AI customers and over one-third are new to Azure over the past 12 months….reports Asian Lite News
Microsoft is integrating the power of AI across the entire data and tech stack, seeing increased usage from AI-first start-ups and some of the world’s largest companies, the company’s Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella has said.
More than 2,30,000 organisations have already used AI capabilities in Power Platform, up over 80 per cent quarter over quarter, and with Copilot Studio, organisations can tailor Copilot for Microsoft 365 or create their own custom Copilots.
“It is already being used by over 10,000 organisations, including An Post, Holland America, PG&E. In just weeks, for example, both PayPal and Tata Digital built copilots to answer common employee queries, increasing productivity and reducing support costs,” Nadella told analysts during the company’s earnings call late on Tuesday.
A growing body of evidence makes clear the role AI will play in transforming work.
“Our own research, as well as external studies, show as much as 70 per cent improvement in productivity, using generative AI for specific work tasks, and overall early Copilot for Microsoft 365 users were 29 per cent faster in the series of tasks, like searching, writing, and summarizing,” Nadella informed.
“We’re also seeing a Copilot ecosystem begin to emerge with ISVs like Atlassian, Mural, and Trello, as well as customers like Air India, Bayer, and Siemens have all built plug-ins for specific lines of business that extend Copilot’s capabilities,” he added.
Microsoft now has 53,000 Azure AI customers and over one-third are new to Azure over the past 12 months.
“Our new models-as-a-service offering makes it easy for developers to use LLMs from our partners, like Cohere, Meta, and Mistral, on Azure without having to manage underlying infrastructure,” said Nadella.
The company has added support for OpenAI’s latest models, including GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-4 with Vision, DALL-E 3, as well as fine-tuning.
“Over half of the Fortune 500 use Azure OpenAI today, including Ally Financial, Coca-Cola, and Rockwell Automation,” he informed.
The company has also introduced Copilot as a stand-alone destination across all browsers and devices, as well as a Copilot app on iOS and Android.
“And just two weeks ago, we introduced Copilot Pro, providing access to the latest models for quick answers and high-quality image creation and access to Copilot for Microsoft 365 personal and family subscribers,” Nadella said.
Microsoft’s Net Income Up 33%
Microsoft posted $62 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during the quarter that ended December 31. Revenue was up 18 per cent and net income increased by 33 per cent.
Microsoft completed the acquisition of gaming company Activision Blizzard on October 13, 2023.
Xbox content and services revenue increased 61 per cent, driven by 55 points of net impact from the Activision acquisition.
Microsoft said the net impact from the Activision Blizzard acquisition was just over $2 billion in revenue. Microsoft also laid off 1,900 workers in its gaming division earlier this month — primarily affecting Activision Blizzard employees.
Revenue in productivity and business processes was $19.2 billion and increased 13 per cent for the quarter.
LinkedIn revenue increased 9 per cent. However, devices revenue decreased 9 per cent for the quarter.
“We’ve moved from talking about AI to applying AI at scale,” said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft. “By infusing AI across every layer of our tech stack, we’re winning new customers and helping drive new benefits and productivity gains across every sector.”
Strong execution by our sales teams and partners drove Microsoft Cloud revenue to $33.7 billion, up 24 per cent year-over-year, added Amy Hood, executive vice president and CFO of Microsoft.
Microsoft 365 Consumer subscribers have now reached 78.4 million, nearly 16 per cent up year-over-year.
stock market bull and bear. (Infographics : Pinaki Paul)
Pandemic Threat Looms, Income Drop May Dampen Demand, Impacting Affordable Segment & Tier II/III Real Estate….reports Asian Lite News
Following the robust recovery observed in the real estate sector in 2023, the industry, while still contending with challenges like elevated input costs and increasing interest rates, is eagerly awaiting the upcoming budget presentation by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Despite the prevailing optimistic sentiments, it is crucial to acknowledge specific challenges. The lingering threat of the pandemic persists, and a decline in income could potentially affect demand, especially in the price-sensitive affordable segment and real estate development in tier II and III cities.
Vidush Arya, Head – Strategy, Orris Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. said, “We anticipate favorable norms aimed at lowering interest rates and introducing tax rebates, encouraging sustained development and investment. Additionally, we hope for increased budget allocation towards new infrastructural developments. This dual strategic focus aligns with the positive momentum already witnessed, further elevating the quality of life for the home buyers and investors.”
Amish Bhutani, Managing Director of Group 108 said, “A pressing need exists to stimulate the affordable segment. Incentivizing purchases through measures like income tax rebates is suggested. Commercial realty, aligning with the government’s entrepreneurship promotion vision, requires policy-level support. Streamlining interest rates and approval processes, akin to a single-window clearance system, is crucial to meeting the escalating demand in the real estate sector.”
Ashwinder R Singh, CEO Residential, Bhartiya Urban said, “The real estate scene had a defining moment in 2023, setting the stage for what’s expected to be an even more dynamic 2024. With a strong economy and potential adjustments in home loan interest rates, the sector anticipates a surge in demand. To align with the government’s vision of housing for everyone, crucial issues need attention. The upcoming budget is crucial, with the top wish being industry status for real estate. Key measures like simplified clearances, tax breaks, and GST adjustments are essential. There’s a call for a thoughtful plan for affordable housing, tapping into untapped potential and unmet demand. As we await the budget, all eyes are on the government’s proactive steps, hoping for a roadmap that boosts growth and resilience in the real estate sector.”
Rajjath Goel, Managing Director of MRG Group said, “The much-awaited industry status award would launch the real estate market into a new phase of expansion. Simultaneously, we hope that the government takes action to resolve significant problems such as the unchecked increase in input costs, particularly for basic materials like steel and cement. A streamlined clearance system is a paramount need for enhancing the operational efficiency of the real estate sector. This reform would help us cut through various levels of bureaucracy, ensuring faster project approvals and benefiting developers and prospective homebuyers.”
Rajesh K Saraf, MD, Axiom Landbase said, “NITI Aayog’s forecast of the Indian real estate sector reaching a $1 trillion market size by 2030 highlights its long-term prospects. The sector looks to the government for intervention in reducing input costs, specifically for steel, cement, and fuel. We also request the government to consider reducing the GST rate on cement and initiatives to promote affordable housing through tax incentives.”
Ajendra Singh. Vice President Sales and Marketing, Spectrum Metro, “2023 not only brought the real estate sector into the limelight but also highlighted the role of commercial realty as a growth driver. We have huge expectations from the forthcoming budget. One of the foremost demands is the availability of GST input tax credits for commercial real estate. We would also like the government to consider conferring infrastructure status to the sector, allowing us easier access to credit and lower financing costs. Decreasing the input costs, such as steel and cement, revising depreciation rates for commercial buildings that align with current market realities, and tax incentives for investments in green buildings and sustainable development projects are other expectations from the forthcoming budget.”
According to Ankit Kansal, Managing Director AXON Developer, “2024 will be an eventful year for Indian real estate, as, after a steady run, the market is set for a further jump. Meanwhile, the government and regulatory bodies need to play a more constructive, accommodating, and facilitating role. It needs to take steps, to reduce regulatory roadblocks, fuel market demand, and support the developer fraternity with fiscal and non-fiscal impetus. Meanwhile, GOI also needs to give attention to green and sustainable real estate in India, as its time has come. There have been a few prudent steps in the past in the form of lower tax rates, fast-tracking approvals, and reduced stamp duties to support sustainable realty. However more needs to be done in terms of bigger tax breaks, supporting green financing, and allocating larger funds towards sustainable infrastructure developments.”
Prateek Mittal, Executive Director of Sushma Group, expressed, “We believe that the forthcoming budget will include income tax benefits for our sector, with high hopes and expectations for the return of the CLSS scheme. Anticipating a stronger real estate market, we foresee fiscal support that recognizes the industry’s critical role in economic recovery. Affordable housing remains the focal point for inclusive growth, and we eagerly await government initiatives that promote and incentivize such projects. By addressing diverse housing needs, these initiatives are expected to transform the real estate landscape, contributing significantly to the nation’s social and economic fabric.”
Tejpreet Singh Managing Director of Gillco Group said, “As real estate’s contribution to India’s GDP is expected to rise to 13% by 2025, the forthcoming budget is eagerly awaited for sectoral rejuvenation. Key expectations include redefining affordable housing criteria, increasing carpet area limits, and significantly boosting affordable housing.”
According to Mukul Bansal, Managing Director, Motiaz, “2023 marked a successful year for real estate, showcasing the positive impact of low prices, low interest rates, and abundant supply. In the upcoming budget, initiatives such as raising the deduction limit under section 80C, addressing the industry status demand, and implementing a single window clearance system are crucial for realizing the country’s housing aspirations.”
Deep space, over 2,000 kilometres from Earth, presents harsh radiation conditions, impacting both life forms and technological products…reports Asian Lite News
Taiwan’s National Central University announced the country’s first lunar mission on Monday, revealing that a Deep Space Radiation Probe (DSRP) developed by its faculty and students is scheduled to launch in Japan as early as the fourth quarter of this year, Central News Agency Taiwan reported on Monday.
Deep space, over 2,000 kilometres from Earth, presents harsh radiation conditions, impacting both life forms and technological products, according to Loren Chang, chair of the Department of Space Science and Engineering at National Central University.
The DSRP weighs 400 grams and is slightly larger than the size of a hand. It is designed to study the radiation environment in deep space and its impact on technology from its four-month journey to the moon, providing a reference for future space missions and the design of space and electronic products.
Central News Agency Taiwan reported that after successful ground tests, demonstrating radiation tolerance, the DSRP was transported to Japan’s JAXA Tsukuba Space Center in December last year and will be integrated into the HAKUTO-R Mission 2 lunar lander developed by ispace, a Japanese private lunar exploration company and partner in this moon-landing mission.
When asked how he is feeling, Changa said that he is experiencing a mixture of excitement and nervousness about the upcoming mission.
“We’ve done the best we can in terms of design and verification, so we’re confident that we can accomplish our mission and we’re sure that through this entire process, we’ll learn a lot more that will be beneficial for future missions.”
Central News Agency Taiwan reported that addressing the challenges faced during the 21-month development period, Chang mentioned time constraints as a significant factor since the delivery deadline was set in December of the previous year.
“We went through many previous iterations where we designed, fabricated, tested and then of course we had to revise our design to clear certain issues we found with each revision,” said Chang, adding that the current DSRP is the fifth version.
Chou Yi-hsuan, a fourth-year student in the Department of Space Science and Engineering, shared insights gained from one of the mistakes in the verification stage, Central News Agency Taiwan reported.
“We had to identify issues related to low temperature or abnormalities under vacuum conditions that led to the problem. Step by step, we found the mistake and fixed it,” she said.
Reflecting on the experience of delivering the DSRP in Japan, Chou expressed happiness. “We were really happy when we finally went to Japan as it was something we had been working on for two years, and we could finally deliver our project.” (ANI)
The state-owned e-commerce platform Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) clocked more than 63 lakh transactions till November 2023, the document read….reports Asian Lite News
More than 1.14 lakh startups in India have created over 12 lakh jobs so far, the Finance Ministry said in its latest review of the Indian economy.
In the report titled, ‘The Indian Economy: A Review January 2024’, the Department of Economic Affairs said that the 1.14 lakh startups recognised by the government under the ‘Startup India initiative’ created more than 12 lakh jobs (as of October 2023).
The state-owned e-commerce platform Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) clocked more than 63 lakh transactions till November 2023, the document read.
Despite facing global challenges in 2023 like valuation issues, few IPOs, regulatory changes and macroeconomic and geopolitical trends, India remains the third largest tech start-up ecosystem globally, with over 950 tech startups founded last year.
The cumulative funding for more than 31,000 tech start ups has exceeded $70 billion (from 2019 to 2023), according to a recent report by Nasscom in collaboration with Zinnov.
“In 2023, despite facing global economic and regulatory challenges, Indian tech startups have prioritised the imperative of enhancing their business fundamentals, driving profitability and growth,” said Debjani Ghosh, President, Nasscom.
“The proliferation of tech startups in tier 2 and 3 cities marks the ecosystem’s resilience,” she added.
Navigating 2024, tech startup founders expect to continue the revenue growth path with measured steps focusing on optimising expenditure and maximising profitability for B2B tech startups.
Investments in deeptech will continue an upward trend in 2024. With generative AI (GenAI) acceleration, 70 per cent of start-up founders are embedding artificial intelligence (AI) in their solutions.
As funding becomes scarce for the Indian startup ecosystem in general, the explosion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has given a new lease of life to entrepreneurs and founders in the country, as the Centre extends support to the sector.
Most firms are limiting the use of Generative AI (GenAI) over data privacy and security issues and 27 per cent had banned its use…reports Asian Lite News
More than one in four organisations have banned the use of GenAI over privacy and data security risks, a new report showed on Monday.
Most firms are limiting the use of Generative AI (GenAI) over data privacy and security issues and 27 per cent had banned its use, at least temporarily, according to the ‘Cisco 2024 Data Privacy Benchmark Study’.
Among the top concerns, businesses cited the threats to an organisation’s legal and intellectual property rights (69 per cent), and the risk of disclosure of information to the public or competitors (68 per cent).
While 48 per cent admit entering non-public company information into GenAI tools, 91 per cent of businesses recognise they need to do more to reassure customers that their data is used for intended and legitimate purposes in AI.
About 98 per cent said that external privacy certifications are an important factor in their buying decisions, the highest level in years.
“Organisations see GenAI as a fundamentally different technology with novel challenges to consider,” said Dev Stahlkopf, Cisco Chief Legal Officer.
“More than 90 per cent of respondents believe GenAI requires new techniques to manage data and risk. This is where thoughtful governance comes into play. Preserving customer trust depends on it,” Stahlkopf added.
Most organisations are also aware of these risks and are putting in place controls to limit exposure.
About 63 per cent have established limitations on what data can be entered and 61 per cent have limits on which GenAI tools can be used by employees.
Consumers are concerned about AI use involving their data today, and yet 91 per cent of organisations recognise they need to do more to reassure their customers that their data is being used only for intended and legitimate purposes in AI.
This is similar to last year’s levels, suggesting that not much progress has been achieved, said the report.
