Microsoft has opened its first cloud regions in Malaysia and Indonesia, giving the countries local access to data storage, AI tools, and cloud services. The move supports public and private sector efforts to improve infrastructure, strengthen security, and build digital skills.

Malaysia West, based in Greater Kuala Lumpur, and Indonesia Central, located in Jakarta, each include three availability zones, with zones offering separate power, cooling, and networking to reduce service disruptions. Both regions are now live and available to customers.

The two launches are part of larger investment plans. In Malaysia, Microsoft committed US$2.2 billion between 2024 and 2028 to support cloud and AI growth. In Indonesia, the company is investing US$1.7 billion over the same period. The funds are going toward infrastructure, training programs, and partnerships.

Meeting local rules and performance needs

Each region offers data residency, allowing organisations to keep their data inside national borders. This helps with compliance and privacy concerns, and reduces latency for users.

The cloud regions are built with the same security measures as Microsoft’s global network. These include physical safeguards, encryption, and access controls. Microsoft also reports that the centres are intended to meet environmental goals like reducing carbon emissions and improving water use.

For example, the Indonesia Central region was developed in line with Microsoft’s environmental targets which include becoming carbon negative by 2030, water positive by 2030, and reaching zero waste in the same decade. The facility is connected to Microsoft’s global wide area network, giving users in Indonesia access to high-bandwidth, low-latency connections in other regions.

Economic projections and job growth

Research from IDC suggests that these regions could create new economic value for both countries. In Malaysia, the new cloud region is projected to help generate US$10.9 billion in revenue and more than 37,000 jobs by 2028. In Indonesia, the estimate is US$15.2 billion in value and more than 106,000 jobs in the same time period.

The jobs are expected to cover both tech and non-tech roles, like cloud operations, software development, support services, and training. Many of the positions will require AI and digital skills, which ties into local workforce development efforts.

Working with local groups and businesses

Several organisations are already using the new cloud infrastructure. In Malaysia, early users include PETRONAS, TNG Digital, and SCICOM Berhad. In Indonesia, the list includes BCA, Pertamina, Telkom Indonesia, Astra, and Binus University.

Public agencies are also involved. In Indonesia, the Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs said the cloud region shows trust in the country’s digital direction. The ministry said cloud and AI could play a role in both national development and regulation.

In Malaysia, the government sees the launch of a cloud region as part of its effort to improve digital services and support job creation. Officials believe the new infrastructure will assist firms in updating existing systems and exploring more efficient ways of working.

Focus on training and AI skills

To support these changes, Microsoft is running several skills programmes. In Malaysia, AIForMYFuture aims to train 800,000 people by the end of 2025. So far, 400,000 people have taken part. The programme includes public servants, students, and people from underserved groups.

In Indonesia, elevAIte was launched with help from the Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs. The target is to train a million people by 2025. More than 20 organisations are involved, including schools, businesses, and local groups.

Microsoft also started a vocational programme called the Nusantara Data Centre Academy. It trains students for roles in data centre operations. Some students are already doing on-the-job training with others in classroom sessions.

In addition, a Community Empowerment Fund is helping schools near data centres improve their digital tools. Funds are used to buy equipment and run training programmes for teachers and students.

As of mid-2025, the Fund has supported over 3,200 students and teachers in Indonesia. Schools in areas like Cikarang and Karawang have received hardware and software tools to support digital learning.

AI projects and local solutions

Both countries are working to use AI to solve local problems. In Malaysia, Microsoft is part of discussions around a National AI Innovation Centre. The goal is to build tools that can support national goals and public services.

A plan for an AI Centre of Excellence in Indonesia was announced during Microsoft’s AI Tour Jakarta. The idea is to bring together stakeholders from government, education, and business to collaborate on real-world AI solutions.

Some groups have already put AI into use. Astra in Indonesia has developed a dealer management system using AI and Microsoft tools, helping with planning, inventory, and service tracking.

The Ministry of Finance in Indonesia is also assessing how to use cloud services for institutional needs. Officials said that reliable and compliant cloud infrastructure could help lower latency and improve efficiency in public sector operations.

A long-term bet on digital growth

The cloud regions are part of Microsoft’s long-term involvement in Southeast Asia. Demand for secure, local digital tools continues to rise, and governments and businesses are exploring cloud adoption as part of their digital plans.

Microsoft’s cloud regions are now one of several factors shaping how Southeast Asia uses technology. While more firms may enter this space, the current focus remains on building infrastructure that can support both long-term national strategies and daily operational needs in sectors like education, healthcare, energy, and finance.

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Google Cloud is adding more computing power to its data centre operations in Jakarta. The move supports growing demand for cloud-based services and AI tools across Indonesia. The company made the announcement earlier this month, and its plans were highlighted again during the Google Cloud Summit Jakarta.

The Jakarta cloud region includes several data centres in Indonesia that provide the infrastructure for digital services. These sites are used by businesses and public sector agencies to run systems, store data, and access cloud tools like AI platforms and analytics software. Since launching the Jakarta cloud region in 2020, Google Cloud says it has played a role in supporting the country’s economic growth and job creation. Looking ahead, it expects to contribute Rp 1,400 trillion (about US$ 88 billion) to the economy over the next five years, and help support nearly 240,000 jobs annually.

Local organisations have used the Jakarta region to run digital banking services, enable remote education, deliver vaccines, and streamline logistics. Google Cloud says many of these groups have cut their IT costs by 20% after shifting from on-premises systems to the cloud.

These cloud services also help businesses make use of AI. Tools like BigQuery and Vertex AI are already being used to train and deploy generative AI models. Companies can customise these tools to support internal workflows, improve customer experiences, or develop new services. The AI models can be trained on the organisation’s own data to ensure accuracy and control.

To meet growing interest in these services, Google Cloud is scaling up its local infrastructure. It says the updated facilities in Jakarta include next-gen chips and systems built for AI applications. The infrastructure is connected to Google’s global network, giving businesses low-latency access to services in other regions and support for international expansion. This network includes fibre routes across 200 countries and territories.

The Jakarta region is also designed with data residency and compliance needs in mind. Organisations can keep their data within Indonesia and meet industry regulations while using high-availability systems with backup and disaster recovery features. According to Google Cloud, companies that have moved to the Jakarta region have seen unplanned application downtime drop by more than 50%.

At the summit, Google Cloud introduced a new AI-focused accelerator program for startups. The initiative, developed with the Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs (Komdigi), intends to support startups build products that use generative or agent-based AI. The program will begin in September and will offer selected startups with cloud credits, technical support, training, and a platform for pitching to investors.

Over the next five years, the goal is to support 100 Indonesian AI startups through this program. Past accelerator participants include well-known Indonesian companies such as Gojek and Kata.ai.

Also announced at the summit was the Indonesia BerdAIa program, designed to help large organisations co-develop AI solutions. The program includes 15 initial partners, such as national banks, telecom providers, healthcare firms, and universities. The goal is to give these organisations access to AI expertise, help them build custom roadmaps, and identify practical AI use cases that can create business value.

Participants will also receive help developing AI tools that work with their current systems and guidance on setting up responsible AI practices. Training programs are included as well, with partners like Accenture and McKinsey involved in supporting these efforts.

Some organisations are already putting these tools into practice. Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison added a gen AI search assistant to its mobile app, letting users ask questions in Bahasa Indonesia or English. The AI replies with service suggestions and data packages suited to each user.

Paragon Technology and Innovation is using AI to handle large orders from retailers. Its system reads images and PDFs to create order drafts automatically. The company also uses AI to analyse online content, helping its teams stay in tune with popular trends.

Fore Coffee, a local coffee chain, uses BigQuery to manage inventory and customer data. These insights help shape product offerings. For example, it developed the Kopi Gembira campaign by identifying a mix of popular flavours and surplus ingredients.

Universitas Brawijaya is using AI tools from Google Cloud and local startup Sarana AI to enhance learning and career development. Lecturers use AI agents to build course materials, while students practice job interviews and receive personalised upskilling plans.

These efforts reflect Indonesia’s broader goal of becoming a regional leader in AI. Programs like Indonesia BerdAIa and the new accelerator are part of ongoing collaborations between Google Cloud, government agencies, and local organisations to support digital growth and prepare for the future of work.

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• TikTok app download available from ByteDance.
• App still not available in the US, although service still available for users.
• ByteDance has until April to sell to US company.

Social media platform TikTok has made its app available for direct download from its servers, so users who can’t install it through official channels – such as the Play Store – can sideload the app and install it manually.

In the US, a law banning TikTok currently bans the app from appearing in the Android and iOS official app stores. Under the law, operators of app stores face fines of $5000 for every download of the app. The ban may be lifted in time, if ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, agrees to sell the application to a US-based company.

The TikTok service continues to be available to US users, which was only briefly interrupted by the imposition of the law. An executive order signed by newly-elected president Donald Trump paused the law for 75 days in the hope that a buyer could be found, which gives ByteDance until April to reach an agreement on price and terms with a US company.

However, for Android users (and iOS users inside the EU), applications can be manually added to a phone and installed. For Android, TikTok is available as an .apk ‘blob’ which contains the application in a single file, so anywhere the app is banned, users might still be able to get their video short ‘fix.’

Users can either download the .apk on their mobile device, or use a computer to download the file and transfer it via cable or Bluetooth. Then, it’s as simple as tapping the downloaded .apk file and clicking through the warnings about insecure package installation.

In addition to the security implications of users sourcing maliciously doctored .apk files from sources other than TikTok, apps installed via sideloading may not auto-update as part of a system update, which usually includes checking for new versions of apps installed through ‘official channels’ – in this case, the Google Play Store.

The US currently has (or rather, had) 170 million active monthly users, despite an uptick in the installation and use of similar apps (RedNote, for example) around the time of the TikTok ban.

The president has reportedly handed the negotiation of the sale of TikTok to his vice-president, J.D. Vance. Several options are on the table, including expressions of interest to buy from online personality MrBeast, billionaire Elon Musk, AI company Perplexity, and database giant, Oracle.

A member of ByteDance’s board of directors, Bill Ford (CEO of Axios), has hinted that there are other solutions under consideration that are “short of divesture”, that is, not necessarily a full and outright sale of TikTok. Some commentators have also said that a 50-50, half US, half Chinese deal is possible.

The undercurrents of the issue are the ongoing trade war between the US and China, with tariffs and counter-tariffs placed by either side as the two largest economies in the world jockey for position. Both sides often state security concerns with the other’s products. In this instance, TikTok has variously been accused tracking US citizens and showing misleading advertising, harming younger American users, acting as a cryptocurrency exchange, influencing elections, and sending data on US citizens to China.

Interested in hearing leading global brands discuss subjects like this in person? Find out more about Digital Marketing World Forum (#DMWF) Europe, London, North America, and Singapore.

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Following the ban on Temu in Indonesia in October 2024, the Chinese e-commerce sensation’s meteoric rise has hit a regulatory wall in Southeast Asia. The platform, known for its low prices and aggressive marketing, faces mounting resistance from regional regulators determined to protect domestic markets.

The latest setback came from Indonesia, the region’s largest economy, where authorities ordered Temu’s removal from app stores in October 2024. The decision, after the platform’s registration was rejected earlier this year, marks a decisive shift in how Southeast Asian nations are responding to the influx of Chinese digital retail giants, prioritising local merchant protection over unrestricted market access.

Temu’s journey in Southeast Asia tells a compelling story of ambitious expansion meeting regulatory reality. Since its launch in 2022, the platform has successfully disrupted US and European markets. The company then set its sights on Southeast Asia’s burgeoning digital economy. The company began its regional push through the Philippines and Malaysia in 2023 before expanding into Thailand, Brunei, and Vietnam in early 2024.

But the platform’s signature strategy of rock-bottom prices and massive advertising spend has sparked regional regulators’ concerns. Indonesia’s Trade Ministry views Temu’s business model as potentially destructive to its 64 million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). 

The country’s response goes beyond just targeting Temu – it has implemented broader measures, including a ban on e-commerce transactions through social media platforms and increased taxation on cross-border digital retail. Vietnam has followed suit, threatening to ban Temu and fellow Chinese e-commerce player SHEIN by the end of November 2024.

Vietnamese authorities cite the platforms’ lack of proper business registration and operational approvals, highlighting the region’s growing scrutiny of unauthorised e-commerce operations. The pushback comes as Southeast Asia’s digital retail market reaches new heights of revenue. 

According to research from Google, Temasek Holdings Pte, and Bain & Co., online spending will rise about 15% this year to $263 billion in the region. The burgeoning middle class with increased disposable income is helping fuel online shopping and e-commerce growth. The massive market potential explains Temu’s aggressive expansion strategy, despite the regulatory headwinds it’s encountering.

Indonesia’s regulatory response has been particularly comprehensive. Beyond the Temu ban, its crackdown on social commerce forced TikTok Shop to acquire a stake in the struggling local platform Goto to maintain its presence in the market. The move demonstrates Indonesia’s commitment to protecting its digital retail ecosystem while ensuring foreign platforms contribute meaningfully to the local economy.

For Temu, whose parent company PDD Holdings (formerly Pinduoduo) has operated successfully in China since 2015, the Southeast Asian regulations present a new challenge. Unlike its relatively smooth expansion in Western markets, the platform must now navigate a complex web of protectionist policies designed to shield local businesses from what regulators view as potentially predatory pricing practices.

The resistance to Temu’s expansion reflects a broader trend in Southeast Asian digital commerce regulation. Countries are increasingly implementing measures to ensure foreign platforms contribute to, rather than disrupt, local economic development. These include:

• Mandatory local business registration,
• Strict tax compliance requirements,
• Consumer protection regulations,
• Data localisation rules,
• Minimum pricing guidelines.

As Southeast Asia’s digital economy continues to evolve, the outcome of Temu’s regulatory challenges could set important precedents for how the region manages foreign e-commerce platforms. The question remains whether Temu can adapt its business model to meet local requirements while maintaining the competitive pricing that fueled its global growth.

For now, Southeast Asian nations appear committed to protecting their domestic digital retail ecosystems, even if it means turning away major global players. Their stance could reshape how international e-commerce platforms approach the region’s promising but increasingly regulated market.

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For several years now, AI has disrupted the public’s ability to trust what it sees, hears, and reads. A noteworthy example is the Republican National Committee’s recent release of an AI-generated ad depicting an imagined nightmarish future in which President Joe Biden is re-elected. The advertisement included computer-generated visuals of devastated communities and border chaos.

In another instance, robocalls falsely claiming to be from Biden discouraged voters in New Hampshire from participating in the 2024 primary. Over the summer, the US Department of Justice shut down a Russian bot operation that used AI to impersonate Americans on social media. OpenAI also took action against an Iranian group using ChatGPT to create misleading social media content.

It is uncertain what direct harm AI can cause to people at present. However, many have expressed grave concerns that the technology facilitates the creation of convincing and misleading information. There have been numerous attempts to regulate AI, with little progress made in areas of major problems, like the technology’s possible influence on the approaching US election in 2024.

A slow-moving effort toward regulation

In an attempt to address the challenges posed by AI, the Biden administration introduced a blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights two years ago, aiming to address issues like algorithmic discrimination and abusive data practices. Following that, an executive order on AI was issued in 2023. US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also organised an AI summit that included high-profile figures like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk. On an international level, the United Kingdom hosted an AI Safety Summit, resulting in the “Bletchley Declaration,” encouraging global collaboration on AI regulation. These findings indicate that the risks of AI-driven election interference have not gone unnoticed.

Despite these efforts, little has been done to explicitly address the use of artificial intelligence in US political campaigns. The two federal agencies with the authority to act, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC), have taken very limited action thus far. For example, the FCC proposed requiring political advertisements on television and radio to disclose the use of AI. However, these regulations are unlikely to go into effect before the 2024 election, and the proposals have already stirred partisan disagreement.

Challenges in regulating AI in politics

The Federal Election Commission recently ruled that it cannot enact new laws to control AI-generated content in political advertisements; instead, it must enforce existing rules against all forms of fraudulent misrepresentation, whether or not AI is used. Advocacy groups, like Public Citizen, say that such a “wait-and-see” strategy is insufficient, since the potential disruption introduced into the election may be too pervasive to combat.

One reason for the absence of decisive action could be the complex legal system governing political speech. The First Amendment protects free speech in the United States and generally permits misleading statements in political ads. Despite this, a majority of Americans in recent polls have voiced a desire for tougher regulations on AI-generated content in elections, with many advocating for the removal of candidates who use AI to deceive voters.

The widespread use of AI creates a big challenge for regulators. The technology is not limited to creating fake news or political advertisements; it can be used in a variety of ways, each with its own level of monitoring. While airbrushing candidate images may appear harmless, creating deepfakes to harm an opponent’s reputation goes too far. The technology is already being used to create personalised campaign messaging, but where should the limits be set? And how do we handle AI-generated memes circulating on social media?

Despite the slow pace of legislative action, some US states have taken steps to regulate AI in elections. California, for example, was the first state to pass laws prohibiting the use of manipulated media in political campaigns, and more than 20 other states have followed suit with similar regulations.

The global context: AI’s impact on elections

Concerns about AI-generated disinformation in elections have surfaced globally. For example, in last year’s Slovakian election, deepfakes were used to defame a political leader, perhaps affecting the result in favour of his pro-Russia opponent. Similarly, in January, the Chinese government was accused of tampering with the Taiwanese election using AI-generated deepfakes. A deluge of dangerous AI-authored content emerged in the UK ahead of the July 4 election, including a deepfake of BBC reporter Sarah Campbell, that claimed that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had approved a fraudulent investment platform. Meanwhile, during India’s general election, deepfakes of deceased leaders were used to influence votes.

In some circumstances, AI plays a more complex role in campaigns. In Indonesia, a former general running for president used an AI-generated cartoon to connect with younger people, raising questions about his involvement in the country’s military regime, although in that instance, there was no blatant deception. Despite being imprisoned, Pakistani opposition leader Imran Khan addressed his supporters via an AI-generated video, circumventing efforts to silence him. In Belarus, the official opposition used an AI-generated “candidate” – a chatbot posing as a 35-year-old Minsk resident – as part of efforts to engage voters at a time when the country’s opposition exists mainly in exile.

International efforts like the Bletchley Declaration are a good start, but much more work has to be done. Legislative proposals like the AI Transparency in Elections Act, the Honest Ads Act, and the Protect Elections From Deceptive AI Act show promise in the US, but their success is questionable owing to resistance from civil liberties organisations and the tech industry.

This regulatory uncertainty presents an opportunity for tech companies. In the absence of clear rules, platforms can continue to offer AI tools, ad space, and data to political campaigns subject to only minimal oversight. While some tech companies have made voluntary pledges to limit AI’s role in elections, safeguards are frequently easy to bypass and unlikely to provide a long-term solution.

What’s next? The need for comprehensive reform

As Greg Schneier and others have noted, the fragmented regulatory environment makes it difficult to effectively address AI’s impact on elections. US agencies often find themselves in jurisdictional battles over which organisation should take the lead. Meanwhile, the public is left to navigate an increasingly complex landscape in which artificial intelligence is utilised to both inform and mislead. To stay up with the rapid advancements in AI, stronger governance, transparency, and reforms are important.

The upcoming elections in the US present a pivotal moment for addressing the issue of using AI in political campaigns. With concerns about election disinformation growing globally, it is critical for governments and regulatory bodies to act decisively and, more importantly, quickly to ensure fair and transparent elections – both now and in the future.

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Indonesia is one of the largest markets for EVs in Southeast Asia, with a population of over 270 million people and a growing demand for mobility. The Indonesian government has set ambitious targets to promote the adoption of EVs, such as having 2.5 million EVs on the road by 2025, including 400,000 fully electric cars, and building 2,400 charging stations across the country.

The government also offers various incentives and regulations to support the EV industry, such as tax reductions, subsidies, import waivers, and emission standards. However, there are also some challenges and barriers that hinder the development of EVs in Indonesia, such as the lack of infrastructure, the high cost of batteries, the low consumer awareness and preference, the limited domestic production and supply chain, and the uncertain policy environment.

In 2023, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The President had hoped to convince Musk to set up a Tesla manufacturing plant in Indonesia. While both of them felt the meeting was positive, Tesla has yet to make any major announcements about setting up a manufacturing facility in the country.

But this did not hamper the country’s ambition of becoming a regional EV hub. The country realized that it is important to foster collaboration among various stakeholders, especially between the government and the private sector, academia, civil society, and international partners to create a conducive ecosystem for EVs in Indonesia.

In 2023, Indonesia launched a list of incentives for consumers and businesses to buy electric cars and buses to speed up the shift from fossil fuel-based energy to electric energy. They offered cash benefits to consumers who bought electric motorcycles made in Indonesia, along with several other attractive offers. According to a PWC survey, most respondents (56%) were primarily aware of the lower taxes offered on buying an EV, followed by 39% who were aware of the plan to build charging stations in remote areas.

The survey also showed that hybrid or electric car adoption may take longer than expected due to 33% of participants choosing to buy fossil fuel cars over the course of the next year, in comparison to 13% of consumers who are hoping to buy a hybrid vehicle, or the 21% in the market for an electric car. In the long term though, 45% of respondents said they hope to buy an electric car in the future, compared to 34% still holding onto fossil fuel-based cars.

BYD plans a big EV journey in Indonesia

While it may be a while before Tesla commits to Indonesia, Chinese EV maker BYD is making the most of the situation. BYD has just announced that it will be investing US$1.3 billion in an EV factory in Indonesia.

The Chinese carmaker also unveiled three new battery models for sale, becoming Indonesia’s biggest EV brand. The new plant is the company’s second in the region after Thailand and its sixth plant outside of China. The Chinese carmaker also overtook Tesla in EV sales last quarter, showcasing the brand’s strength globally against Tesla’s humiliating 2 million vehicle recall in the US.

BYD is also the leading EV brand in Southeast Asia. The company continues to report record-breaking sales with a strong dominance in Thailand and other ASEAN markets. Chinese automaker Wuling Motors’ Air EV and the Ioniq 5 from South Korea’s Hyundai Motor were the two best-selling battery electric cars in Indonesia last year.

According to a report by Reuters, BYD’s Indonesia president, Eagle Zhao, said the company aimed for the same market-leading position in Indonesia that it had achieved globally. The company has been offering electric buses and taxi fleets through local Indonesian partners and said it would now also start selling the Dolphin hatchback, the Atto 3 sport utility vehicle and the Seal sedan.

On November 24^th, 2023, BYD achieved a historic milestone as its 6 millionth new energy vehicle rolled off the production line at the Zhengzhou factory. Having surpassed the 5 millionth to the 6 millionth new energy vehicle in just three months, BYD’s rapid pace continued to establish new benchmarks in production and sales.

Currently, BYD has entered 58 countries and regions, and surpassed an accumulative sales of 200,000 units of passenger vehicles, with significant victories in the new energy vehicle market in Thailand, Brazil, and other locations.

BYD continues to innovate

The Chinese EV carmaker also launched its first cargo ship. The Explorer No.1 can transport 7000 vehicles. Plans for seven more ships equipped with BYD energy storage batteries and generator systems, emphasize the company’s’s vision for a greener era in maritime transport.

At the recent 2024 BYD Dream Day event in Shenzen, BYD unveiled the Xuanji Architecture and Integrated Vehicle Intelligence. BYD’s Integrated Vehicle Intelligence strategy reshapes the concept of vehicle intelligence by considering the car in its entirety, effectively remolding intelligent vehicles with the self-developed Xuanji architecture.

The Xuanji architecture is an intelligent vehicular architecture that serves as both the brain and neural network of the vehicle, enabling an efficient blend of electrification and intelligence. This system seamlessly perceives changes in the internal and external environment of the car in real time. It consolidates information at millisecond level and feeds it back to the central “brain” for rapid decision-making. This system swiftly adjusts the state of the vehicle, significantly enhancing driving safety and comfort.

The company also announced its collaboration with technology company DJI, to create the world’s first vehicle-mounted UAS (unmanned aircraft system). Integrated onto a drone bay, it features intelligent storage, battery swapping, and charging management. By taking off and landing in one click, with high-definition, high-frame rate, and low-latency image transmissions, stunning aerial footage can be captured on any road trip.

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In a sudden twist of events roughly two months ago, TikTok, the widely embraced social media platform from China’s ByteDance, temporarily suspended its e-commerce services in Indonesia. The decision was prompted by regulatory mandates instituted by the Indonesian government to protect local merchants’ interests.

Fast forward to this week, and TikTok has orchestrated a remarkable strategy in the archipelago, unveiling plans to invest over US$1.5 billion and secure a 75% stake in Tokopedia, the nation’s largest e-commerce platform. 

TikTok’s decision to temporarily shut down its e-commerce services in Indonesia reflects the complex interplay between regulatory compliance, market dynamics, and strategic investments. But the social media giant did say it would recalibrate its approach to navigate the evolving regulatory landscape.

That said, the strategic move to collaborate with Tokopedia underscores TikTok’s commitment to the Indonesian market. It allows the company to continue its ‘Shop’ operations, showcasing the platform’s resilience in navigating regulatory challenges.

The Indonesian government mandated TikTok to halt its e-commerce services temporarily in October this year; the move was solely to ensure a level playing field for local merchants and protect their interests within the fiercely competitive e-commerce sector.

For TikTok, it was a detrimental move, especially for TikTok Shop, considering Southeast Asia is the app’s biggest market in terms of users, and Indonesia, the region’s biggest economy and most populous nation, is the most significant market for the platform. 

In fact, Indonesia was so critical to TikTok’s plans that it was the first nation to pilot the app’s e-commerce arm, TikTok Shop. The country of 278 million people was supposed to be a template for a global expansion from the US to Europe. When talks on the new ruling were making waves, TikTok argued that separating social media and e-commerce would hamper innovation and hurt millions of merchants and consumers. 

According to the country’s Director General of Public Information and Communications of the Ministry of Communications and Informatics, Usman Kansong, Tiktok Indonesia has two permits from his ministry. “There are two permits: social media and e-commerce. But with Minister of Trade Regulation No. 31 of 2023, Tiktok must separate social media from e-commerce,” he added.

TikTok has a new strategy in Indonesia

When the ByteDance-owned TikTok unveiled its strategic move on Monday, it said the plan was to invest US$1.5 billion in a unit of Indonesia’s GoTo, aiming to salvage its shopping business following regulatory challenges in the country. In a letter to investors, GoTo said TikTok will secure a controlling 75.01% stake in Tokopedia, an e-commerce unit within the GoTo umbrella. 

As a part of this transaction, Tokopedia is set to acquire TikTok Shop’s Indonesia business for US$340 million, expanding its footprint in the dynamic Indonesian e-commerce landscape. “As part of the agreement, Tokopedia and TikTok Shop Indonesia’s businesses will be combined under the existing PT Tokopedia entity in which TikTok will take a controlling stake. The shopping features within the TikTok app in Indonesia will be operated and maintained by the enlarged entity,” GoTo’s statement reads.

The arrangement will allow TikTok and GoTo to serve Indonesian consumers and MSMEs comprehensively. “GoTo will benefit from the growth of the enlarged entity and will remain an ecosystem partner to Tokopedia through its digital financial services via GoTo Financial and on-demand services via Gojek. GoTo will also receive an ongoing revenue stream from Tokopedia commensurate with its scale and growth,” GoTo noted.

What will unfold next?

According to both companies, the strategic partnership will kick off with an initial pilot period conducted in close collaboration with and under the supervision of relevant regulators. The Beli Lokal initiative’s inaugural campaign is scheduled to launch on December 12, aligning with Indonesia’s National Online Shopping Day (Harbolnas) — a government initiative to foster the country’s digital economy by bolstering local MSMEs. 

“This campaign, accessible on both TikTok and Tokopedia, will spotlight a diverse array of merchants, placing a significant emphasis on Indonesian products. Going forward, TikTok, Tokopedia, and GoTo will transform Indonesia’s e-commerce sector, creating millions of new job opportunities over the next five years,” GoTo added. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024.

The coming months will unveil how TikTok’s bold moves will shape the narrative of e-commerce partnerships and regulatory compliance in this dynamic market.

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Indonesia, home to an estimated 125 million TikTok users, said farewell to TikTok Shop on October 4th due to a new regulation that bans e-commerce trade on social media. The country, one of the largest markets for TikTok, is officially the first in Southeast Asia to push back against the ByteDance-owned app, even though the social media app’s fastest-growing feature, TikTok Shop, has a burgeoning fan base in Indonesia. 

TikTok launched the shopping feature in Indonesia in 2021, and its instant success has encouraged it to expand into online retailing in other markets, including the US. Unfortunately, TikTok has been forced to end its e-commerce feature in the Southeast Asian nation this week or risk losing its local operating license. The move will impact roughly two million small businesses on TikTok Shop.

“Our priority is to remain compliant with local laws and regulations,“ said TikTok. “As such, we will no longer facilitate e-commerce transactions in TikTok Shop Indonesia by 17:00 GMT+7, October 4, and will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities on the path forward,” the company said in a Tuesday statement.

TikTok has been betting on Indonesia as a blueprint to expand into other online shopping markets, including the US. By the end of 2022, TikTok Shop had become the fifth-largest e-commerce platform in Indonesia, according to data from Singapore-based venture outfit Momentum Works. 

Despite its expanding operations, TikTok did not receive an Indonesian payment license and relies on third-party payment service providers within the country. “TikTok currently does not have its own payment and logistics system in Indonesia. TikTok accepts various payment methods for payments, including debit/credit cards, digital wallets, bank transfers, and cash,” the company explained in a fact sheet.

A license would allow TikTok to earn from transaction fees and compete more effectively with other payment service entities. What the authorities in Indonesia want is for TikTok and other platforms to split shopping from social media. The unprecedented regulation for the popular video-viewing app will bring TikTok’s e-commerce thrust to a screeching halt, just as it was gaining traction against Sea Ltd. and GoTo Group. 

“Out of the five million local businesses on TikTok, two million sell on TikTok,” Anggini Setiawan, TikTok Indonesia’s head of communications, told AFP last month. Momentum Works said the country represented 42% of TikTok’s US$4.4 billion regional gross merchandise value (GMV) last year.

What’s next for TikTok Shop in Indonesia?

According to a local media report quoting the country’s Director General of Public Information and Communications of the Ministry of Communications and Informatics, Usman Kansong, Tiktok Indonesia has two permits from his ministry. “There are two permits: social media and e-commerce. But with Minister of Trade Regulation No. 31 of 2023, Tiktok must separate social media from e-commerce,” he added.

A check on TikTok’s fact sheet suggests that the video-platform app obtained the E-Commerce Foreign Trade Representative Office License (SIUP3A PMSE) from the Ministry of Trade, as required by local law. Usman reportedly told reporters that if Tiktok Indonesia separates itself from TikTok Shop and registers the latter as a separate entity, it can be business as usual for the e-commerce platform. 

TikTok has yet to indicate its next move, besides the fact that there will be discussions with the local authorities. Clearly, the fresh restrictions in Indonesia open a new front in the platform’s fight with regulators worldwide. Should TikTok create a separate app, Bloomberg Intelligence’s analyst, Nathan Naidu, believes it would impede the conversion of its 125 million local monthly active users (MAU) into shoppers.

Meanwhile, Jianggan Li, CEO of Momentum Works, noted in an email that Shopee has been voicing their support for Indonesian MSME exports yearly. “Banning TikTok Shop could be operationally messy (and many of our friends say impractical). There are many different permutations of how things can evolve (eg, a separate e-commerce app or specific programs for MSMEs).”

“Regardless of how the ban proceeds, TikTok’s vast consumer traffic will continue to be harvested for e-commerce, through TikTok Shop or other means, by TikTok or other parties,” he noted. Li also believes it is not too late for TikTok to engage and turn the tide. He suggests that TikTok needs to adopt a bold and localized approach.

Is the TikTok ban linked to Indonesia’s upcoming election?

A week before the ban was announced, Southeast Asia’s largest wholesale market, Tanah Abang, was inspected. According to Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Teten Masduki, sellers at the market in the capital, Jakarta, were experiencing a more than 50% loss of profits, as they claim an inability to compete with imported products sold online at much lower prices.

At the same time, the Indonesian government accused TikTok of engaging in predatory pricing that disadvantages local SMEs. The response from TikTok is that “TikTok does not set the price for products on the platform. Merchants can price products at the desired level according to their business strategy. Products on TikTok Shop and other e-commerce platforms in Indonesia are priced at similar levels.”

Even when talks on the new ruling were making waves last week, TikTok argued that separating social media and e-commerce would hamper innovation and hurt millions of merchants and consumers. The company says some rely on its platform to make a living, and that all its sellers are Indonesian or have local entities. 

After all, TikTok invested US$10 billion (IDR 148 trillion) in the MSMEs in Indonesia as a form of appreciation to the Government of Indonesia for its support of TikTok.

The post TikTok bows down to Indonesia, shutting ‘Shop’ down. Will a new app arise? appeared first on TechWire Asia.

Three months ago, the CEO of TikTok, from being grilled by US lawmakers, pledged that his ByteDance-owned video-sharing platform would invest billions of dollars in Indonesia and Southeast Asia over the next few years. At a forum in Jakarta in June, Shou Zi Chew revealed that Indonesians make up more than one-third of TikTok’s 325 million Southeast Asian users every month, and more than two million are selling on TikTok Shop. 

What Shou meant was that Southeast Asia is TikTok’s biggest market in terms of users, and Indonesia, the region’s biggest economy and most populous nation, is the most significant market for the platform. So much so that Indonesia was the first to pilot the app’s e-commerce arm. TikTok Shop, in a country of 278 million, was supposed to be a template for a global expansion from the US to Europe.

Unfortunately, TikTok’s e-commerce thrust has been stalled rather abruptly in Indonesia by the local government in an attempt to defend offline merchants, marketplaces, and small enterprises. In an unprecedented ruling that came into force this week, TikTok, or any social media platform, is compelled to split payments from shopping platforms or risk having their licenses revoked. 

In short, the Indonesian government only allows social media to facilitate promotions, not transactions. “Social media [and e-commerce] must be separated so that the algorithms are not controlled. The provision will prevent using personal data for business purposes,” Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hassan said. Hassan also told a news conference that social commerce platforms would have a week to comply with the new rule.

So far, TikTok is the only social media company allowing for direct transactions and product promotions on their platforms. For Hasan and a handful of other ministers within the government, including the country’s president, predatory pricing on social media platforms endangers the livelihoods of SMEs struggling to compete.

According to a local media report quoting the Director General of Public Information and Communications of the Ministry of Communications and Informatics, Usman Kansong, Tiktok Indonesia has two permits from his ministry. “There are two permits: social media and e-commerce. “But with Minister of Trade Regulation No. 31 of 2023, Tiktok must separate social media from e-commerce,” he added.

Usman reportedly told reporters that if Tiktok Indonesia separates itself from TikTok Shop and registers the latter as a separate entity, it can be business as usual for the e-commerce platform. TikTok, as envisioned, is unhappy with the new ruling. 

It argues that separating social media and e-commerce hampers innovation and hurts millions of merchants and consumers. The company says some rely on its platform to make a living and that all its sellers are Indonesian or have local entities. For TikTok, the fresh restrictions in Indonesia open a new front in the platform’s fight with regulators worldwide.

Concurrently, TikTok has not been on the good books of the US, Europe, and India, mainly on national security concerns. Perhaps, for TikTok in Indonesia, navigating the conflict will be pivotal for the platform as other governments assess closely. For now, TikTok’s goal to grow its e-commerce business is facing its most significant stumbling block yet because of the significance of Indonesia as a market for the company.

By the end of 2022, TikTok Shop had become the fifth-largest e-commerce platform in Indonesia, according to data from Singapore-based venture outfit Momentum Works. Last year, the country represented 42% of TikTok’s US$4.4 billion regional gross merchandise value (GMV).

Bloomberg Intelligence’s analyst, Nathan Naidu, believes TikTok’s possible split of e-commerce and social media operations in Indonesia could impede further conversion of its 125 million local monthly active users (MAU) into shoppers, benefiting Sea’s Shopee, which, like TikTok Shop, relies on beauty and personal care for most of its domestic sales. 

“GoTo’s Tokopedia, which had 34 million MAU in August vs. Shopee’s 138 million and Alibaba-owned Lazada’s 37 million, should be better able to defend its GMV share in Indonesia, which drove 90% of the group’s 2022 sales,” Naidu added. Meanwhile, Jianggan Li, CEO of Momentum Works, noted in an e-mail that Shopee has been voicing their support for Indonesian MSME exports yearly.

“Banning TikTok Shop could be operationally messy (and many of our friends say impractical). There are many different permutations of how things can evolve (e.g., a separate e-commerce app or specific programs for MSMEs). Regardless of how the ban proceeds, TikTok’s vast consumer traffic will continue to be harvested for e-commerce, through TikTok Shop or other means, by TikTok or by other parties,” he noted

Li also believes it is not too late for TikTok to engage and turn the tide. He suggests that TikTok needs to adopt a bold and localized approach.

The post The end of TikTok Shop and other social commerce in Indonesia appeared first on TechWire Asia.

Indonesia will soon be a pioneer in Southeast Asia in taking a stand against TikTok. The local authorities are expected to issue a regulation on the use of social media to sell goods in the country as soon as this week. The stance could deal a blow to TikTok, which has Indonesia as its biggest e-commerce market.

“Social media and social commerce cannot be combined,” the country’s Deputy Trade Minister Jerry Sambuaga said earlier this month, vowing to ban the mix. For Indonesia, banning the selling of goods on social media under new trade regulations is intended to quell threats to offline markets in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

Sambuaga specifically cited TikTok’s “live” features that allow people to sell goods. He and other local ministers have been highlighting their concerns over TikTok Shop playing a role in the downslide of local MSMEs and traditional markets. Even the country’s President, Joko Widodo, has been voicing his concerns over e-commerce sellers using predatory pricing on social media platforms, threatening offline markets in Indonesia. 

“TikTok is supposed to be a social media, not an ‘economic media,'” he said during a trip to East Kalimantan last week. Current trade regulations in Indonesia do not specifically cover direct transactions on social media. “Revisions to the trade regulations that are currently underway will firmly and explicitly ban this,” Sambuaga told parliament earlier this month. 

On Monday, Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said the move, directed at ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok, would mean companies can only advertise products but not conduct direct transactions. For context, Indonesia is home to 64.2 million micro, small, and medium enterprises that contribute to 61% of its gross domestic product.

Therefore, the policy seeks to keep those millions of MSMEs from being squeezed out by social commerce companies. In Indonesia to date, TikTok is the only social media company that allows direct e-commerce transactions on its platform. “India and the US dared to reject and ban TikTok from simultaneously running social media and e-commerce businesses. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, TikTok can do both,” Teten Masduki, Indonesia’s minister of cooperatives and SMEs, said in a statement.

Masduki also argued that TikTok could potentially monopolize the market because online shoppers are ‘influenced by conversations on social media.’ During a government meeting earlier this month, he shared concerns about TikTok Shop’s control over payment and logistics systems.

There have also been reports indicating that the Indonesian government is also considering a ban on selling imported goods priced below US$100 through cross-border services on e-commerce platforms and barring marketplaces from acting as manufacturers.

What will the ban mean for TikTok in Indonesia?

It’s been TikTok’s ambition over the last two years to boost its vast audience into a money-making shopping arm, TikTok Shop. Unfortunately, the endeavor has faced obstacles in the US due to fears of a nationwide ban. TikTok also faced setbacks in the UK last year due to unmet goals and managerial issues. But TikTok Shop has rapidly gained ground in Indonesia, the company’s second-largest market after the US. 

So much so that TikTok is betting on Indonesia as a blueprint to expand into other online shopping markets, including the US. It all started in April 2021, when TikTok Shop fully launched in Indonesia, one of the first countries to pilot the feature outside China. Today, the country is home to an estimated 125 million users, according to TikTok, including two million small businesses on TikTok Shop. 

By the end of 2022, TikTok Shop had become the fifth-largest e-commerce platform in Indonesia, according to data from Singapore-based venture outfit Momentum Works. Despite its operations, TikTok has yet to receive an Indonesian payment license and relies on third-party payment service providers within the country. A license would enable TikTok to earn from transaction fees and compete more effectively with other payment services entities. 

But amidst the rave over TikTok Shop in Indonesia, thousands of brick-and-mortar merchants, according to The Jakarta Post, complain about the impact of the app’s booming e-commerce arm on their business. They have urged the government to close or at least regulate TikTok Shop. TikTok has criticized calls for a ban, saying it would harm Indonesian merchants and consumers. 

“Close to two million local businesses in Indonesia use TikTok to grow and thrive through social commerce,” Anggini Setiawan, TikTok Indonesia’s head of communications, told AFP earlier this month. According to Momentum Works, the country represented 42% of TikTok’s US$4.4 billion regional gross merchandise value (GMV) last year.

In short, managing the conflict with Indonesia will be crucial for TikTok as governments worldwide observe how the largest nation in Southeast Asia responds to the growing e-commerce influence of the social media giant. Moreover, TikTok has only recently announced plans to invest billions of dollars into the Southeast Asian region.

So far, TikTok has shown no sign of bowing down. The social platform giant has pushed back against the proposed policy. It argues that separating social media and e-commerce into different platforms hampers innovation and disadvantages millions of Indonesian merchants and consumers. The company says some rely on its platform to make a living.

“Social commerce was born to solve a real-world problem for local traditional small sellers by matching them with local creators who can help drive traffic to their online shops,” a TikTok Indonesia spokesperson said in a statement, according to Bloomberg. “While we respect local laws and regulations, we hope that the regulations take into account its impact on the livelihoods of more than six million sellers and close to seven million affiliate creators who use TikTok Shop.”

Overall, experts reckon if the ban comes through, will deal a massive blow to the social media giant. Bloomberg Intelligence’s analyst, Nathan Naidu, believes TikTok’s possible split of e-commerce and social media operations in Indonesia could impede further conversion of its 125 million local monthly active users (MAU) into shoppers, benefiting Sea’s Shopee, which, like TikTok Shop, relies on beauty and personal care for most of its domestic sales. 

“GoTo’s Tokopedia, which had 34 million MAU in August vs. Shopee’s 138 million and Alibaba-owned Lazada’s 37 million, should be better able to defend its GMV share in Indonesia, which drove 90% of the group’s 2022 sales,” Naidu added. Meanwhile, Jianggan Li, CEO of Momentum Works, noted in an e-mail that Shopee has been voicing its support for Indonesian MSME exports yearly.

“Banning TikTok Shop could be operationally very messy (and many of our friends say impractical). There are many different permutations of how things can evolve (e.g., a separate e-commerce app or specific programs for MSMEs). Regardless of how the ban proceeds, TikTok’s vast consumer traffic will continue to be harvested for e-commerce, through TikTok Shop or other means, by TikTok or by other parties,” he noted

Li also believes it is not too late for TikTok “to engage and turn the tide.” He reckons TikTok needs to be bold and local. 

The post The clock is ticking for TikTok in Indonesia. Here’s why appeared first on TechWire Asia.

It has been quite a momentous year so far for TikTok. The ByteDance-owned short videos app garnered global attention when its CEO endured a five-hour grilling in Capitol Hill about the safety and security of the viral app. Not too long after being pummeled by American lawmakers, TikTok expanded in Southeast Asia (SEA), especially Indonesia.

Political pushback and attempts to ban TikTok in the US partly explain the charm offensive TikTok has been on in SEA, where the nearly 700 million-strong population has become critical to its future success. Despite the growing chorus of bipartisan lawmakers viewing TikTok as a threat, the ByteDance-owned app has plans to “invest billions” in the Southeast Asian region. 

Interestingly, according to CEO Shou Zi Chew, Indonesia alone was slated to receive US$10 billion in investment over the next five years. The short-form video giant’s ulterior motive is to dominate e-commerce in the region. Considering growing regulatory scrutiny in the US — the biggest market for the app with 116 million users — TikTok has been investing more in its second-biggest market: Indonesia, which had 113 million app users as of April, according to Statista. 

Outside Indonesia, it’s also ramping up its focus on Thailand and Malaysia. “We see our growth opportunity here to be immense, and we look forward to investing more in this country (Indonesia) and, of course, in the region,” Chew said, noting that the company had close to 2,000 employees in the archipelago.

The focus for TikTok in Southeast Asia currently revolves around Project S – a new social commerce feature that opens up a new section on the TikTok app titled Trendy Beat. What that essentially means, according to the Financial Times, is that items that go viral on videos may be algorithmically selected and marketed for sale in the section. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, will work with a network of China-based suppliers to fulfill item orders. 

The feature is currently in development and undergoing testing in the UK market. But it is a challenging journey for ByteDance in Asia as the company has been facing sharpening scrutiny. There have been Southeast Asian authorities criticizing the content of TikTok this year, with Vietnam announcing a review of the app. 

The company has already been banned in India, another huge market that would have otherwise held an enormous opportunity for TikTok.

How is TikTok preparing to dominate Indonesia?

While TikTok is a veritable behemoth, its e-commerce platform TikTok Shop is a relatively small player in the Indonesian e-commerce market. However, TikTok’s new initiative, Project S, has attracted attention in the Southeast Asian nation.

Firstly, it is essential to grasp that for TikTok, Indonesia is the most critical market in the region for TikTok shops. For context, in 2022, it recorded a gross merchandise value (GMV) of US$2.5 billion from the country, according to a report by venture builder Momentum Works.

Unfortunately, Indonesia’s government views Project S as threatening local MSMEs. Teten Masduki, Indonesia’s minister for cooperatives and SMEs, believes that if the project is introduced, it could put local MSMEs under pressure in an already-saturated market. Masduki believes that the TikTok initiative is suspected of gathering data on popular products in Indonesia and producing similar products in China for domestic sale at lower prices.

The minister even went as far as to suggest a regulatory change to protect the interests of local MSMEs in Indonesia. He urges Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade to revise Regulation No. 50 of 2020 (Reg 50/2020), which regulates e-commerce trade, to also apply to social commerce. So far, TikTok’s Indonesia office told Tech in Asia that Project S is unavailable in the country, emphasizing that the firm does not operate a cross-border business.

TikTok Indonesia’s head of communications, Anggini Setiawan, said the Cooperatives and SMEs Ministry had granted her company the opportunity to explain Project S further on July 26. “We have briefed the ministry and would like to set the record straight on the misinformation concerning TikTok Shop in the media and online. It is not true that we will launch a cross-border initiative in Indonesia,” Anggini told reporters.

She emphasized that TikTok “do not intend to create our e-commerce products or become a wholesaler that will compete with Indonesian sellers.” However, she iterated how the TikTok Shop model for the Indonesian market was tailored to empower and benefit local sellers, “and we will continue to use it.”

Separately, there had been talks that TikTok is in early-stage discussions with regulators to obtain a payments license in Indonesia. Two sources briefed on the plan said TikTok, owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, was in talks with Indonesia’s central bank and that the application was being viewed favorably.

The spokesperson for TikTok confirmed with Reuters on August 4 that the talks were taking place, adding that an Indonesian payments license would help local creators and sellers on its platform. We will have to wait and watch how it plays out for TikTok in Indonesia, the app’s most promising country in the region.

The post TikTok’s Project S hits a snag in Indonesia appeared first on TechWire Asia.

In 2018 China made a move it claims to be the world’s first – introducing an artificial intelligence (AI) news anchor. The move was unlike any other, and according to China’s state news agency, Xinhua, the virtual newsreader was meant to “work” 24 hours a day on its website and social media channels, “reducing news production costs.”

That was five years ago, and for Xinhua’s already tightly-scripted and controlled state news presenters, the AI anchors would take things a step further. But journalism generated by machines is still nascent for the industry, and it’s unsurprising China was at the forefront of the evolution.

With the rise of AI in many forms, like generative AI, the use of technology has become part of the industry’s toolbox. Four years ago, Francesco Marconi, the head of research and development at The Journal, told the New York Times AI had become a necessity.

“I think a lot of the tools in journalism will soon be powered by AI,” Marconi predicted in 2019. He wasn’t wrong – in an era of ChatGPT, newsrooms worldwide are starting to grapple with how they will incorporate the technology into their workflows and workplaces.

Take Asia, for instance – the region is witnessing the rise of AI news bots that have started reading bulletins in countries, often to help cater to diverse cultural and linguistic needs.

India’s AI news anchors

Following China’s state-run Xinhua news agency launch of two AI news anchors in 2018, one speaking Chinese and the other speaking English, India followed suit this year. The South Asian nation launched its first AI-powered anchor, Sana, in April.

Sana occasionally presents bulletins on the India Today Group’s Aaj Tak news channel. Just last week, Sana made history on Aaj Tak’s prime-time show by presenting a news report entirely in French, marking a significant milestone in the country’s field of broadcasting.

Sana’s latest abilities coincided with Prime Minister Modi’s visit to France. It holds special significance as it commemorates the 25th anniversary of the strategic partnership between India and France. Joining the trend, several other channels nationwide have also introduced their AI-powered news presenters.

Last week alone, two AI news presenters debuted in India. Lisa appeared on the private news channel in Odisha, presenting bulletins in English and Odia – a language spoken in the state. 

The channel’s leader Jagi Mangat Panda called the moment “a milestone in broadcasting TV and digital journalism” and said ‘Lisa’s’ role would involve doing repetitive work “so news people can focus on doing more creative work to bring better quality news.” 

‘Lisa’ will be able to deliver news in various local Indian languages. Even India’s Power TV, a Kannada channel, made a similar groundbreaking move. The channel introduced its very own AI presenter, Soundarya.

Indonesia

The same month India launched their first virtual news presenter, Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelagic state also introduced three AI news. tvOne, one of Indonesia’s most-watched broadcast channels, introduced three virtual presenters named Nadira and Sasya, and Bhoomi. 

The different avatars are to appeal to some of the country’s leading demographic groups. According to a local media report, despite being promoted by the Indonesian government as AI avatars, the figures are not yet interactive, although they have been generated using AI software. 

“Indonesians have not been wholly impressed — in the rollout video, the avatars’ speech tracks were visibly out of sync with the animation, and the figures looked awkwardly cut out against a flat background,” an article by the Rest of World reads.

Taiwan

Taiwan’s FTV News has recently introduced an AI weather presenter for a two-minute forecast on July 3. It came following six months of development. The AI weather presenter, yet to be named, was created using Artificial Intelligence Global Company (AIGC) technology, allowing it to generate photorealistic human images. 

As with other virtual presenters, the one in Taiwan can learn from its past broadcasts, enhancing its manner of speech, pauses, cadence, and overall presentation. Additionally, this Taiwanese channel supplies the AI character with a daily news script for “practice,” tailored to specific situations.

Kuwait: Middle East’s first AI news presenter

Besides India and Indonesia, in April a Middle Eastern media company also took the chance to launch its first virtual news presenter. The AI anchor “Fedha” appeared on the Twitter account of Kuwait News, and it generated a flood of reactions on social media. 

While some praised the virtual presenter as an innovation, others expressed concern about the ethics of using AI in newsrooms.

Malaysia

Even in Malaysia, the generative AI wave in newsroom operations has commenced. Two AI avatars were introduced in May this year in one of the country’s leading broadcast news organizations, Astro Awani. Joon is an AI avatar that appears on Astro Awani’s channel 501, delivering news reports in Malay during the evening news broadcast. Monica, who has a Scandinavian appearance, joins the Agenda AWANI talk show discussion every night on the same day. 

According to Astro AWANI’s Editor-in-Chief, Ashwad Ismail, the development of AI avatars like Joon and Monica holds significant importance. While they are not intended to challenge or replace existing human talents, they aim to enhance and strengthen the quality of human individuals and the products they create. 

The post More countries across Asia are introducing AI news anchors. Here’s a list appeared first on TechWire Asia.