Banking on connectivity: How Equinix is revolutionizing BFSI infrastructure

    developing a sustainable economic system on a global scale

  • Revolutionizing finance through global digital communication

Banking on connectivity: How Equinix is revolutionizing BFSI infrastructure

In today’s banks, financial services, and coverage ( BFSI) business, interlinking is not just a buzzword—it’s the lifeblood of online transformation, driving a tectonic shift in how financial organizations operate and develop. At the heart of this revolutionary stands Equinix, a digital infrastructure business that’s weaving a global cloth of communication, redefining how economic companies operate, develop, and secure their digital assets. &nbsp,

Equinix’s position in the BFSI market is little short of revolutionary. Equinix has created a strong, global habitat that’s driving creativity and collaboration. The amazing breadth and breadth of the Equinix economic services ecosystem reflect this wide range. Using Equinix’s connectivity options, BFSI habitat participants continue to build and expand their services in the modern economy. &nbsp,

Beyond traditional financial institutions, this habitat also includes all major public cloud service providers, many financial organizations, data analytics companies, LLM and AI providers, and technology providers. A detailed network like this promotes innovation and new business models by facilitating smooth cooperation and data exchange.

enhancing the digital equipment needed for contemporary bank

At the core of this habitat is Platform Equinix®, which is at the frontline of enabling cutting-edge online banking services. By providing low-latency connections to a multitude of partners, including sky providers, system operators, surveillance and fintech companies, Equinix allows banks to produce future-ready platforms that can leverage various technologies through API calls.

This infrastructure flexibility is crucial in today’s multi-cloud environment. For instance, a bank can now run its front-end applications on AWS, use Google BigQuery for analytics, and tap into AI services from Microsoft or OpenAI, all while maintaining its core banking systems and customer data within Equinix’s secure data centers. &nbsp,

Equinix Fabric® facilitates this hybrid multi-cloud approach, enabling banks to provide their customers with the quickest and most innovative services without sacrificing security or performance. &nbsp,

Tariq Shallwani, head of Segment Strategy South Asia, Equinix, shared,” Over 85 % of enterprises are already using multiple clouds to gain agility. BFSIs have a transformative opportunity to leverage innovation from the cloud while avoiding vendor lock-in as new public cloud availability zones are launching in Malaysia.

Banking on connectivity: How Equinix is revolutionizing BFSI infrastructure

In a connected world, strengthening cybersecurity

As financial services become increasingly digital and interconnected, cybersecurity has become a paramount concern. Equinix addresses this issue head-on by providing safe, private options for connecting to the public internet, significantly reducing the threat of cybercrimes.

Central to this security strategy is Equinix Fabric, which allows financial institutions to create private, software-defined connections to their partners and service providers. By reducing latency, this increases both performance and security. &nbsp,

Building on this foundation, Equinix’s Network Edge service offers software-defined edge security solutions, including SD-WAN, firewalls, and routers as a service, extending the coverage to new markets and edge metros.

Navigating compliance in a global landscape

While enhancing security, financial institutions must also navigate a complex web of regulatory requirements. Global financial institutions face a significant challenge in ensuring compliance with data sovereignty and financial regulations. Equinix’s global presence, with data centers in key financial hubs worldwide, allows banks to maintain data residency while still accessing global markets.

Banks expanding their reach benefit most from this global-local approach. For instance, a bank in Malaysia can use Equinix’s facilities in Singapore or Hong Kong to access the region’s robust financial ecosystem while adhering to local data laws. Banks can expand their services internationally while maintaining the necessary regulatory compliance in each country.

Enabling real-time financial services

The future of banking is not just global and secure—it’s also real-time. Equinix’s low-latency connections and location of data centers close to major financial hubs help to realize this. This infrastructure enables banks to process transactions and analyze data in near real-time, a capability that is crucial for services like high-frequency trading, real-time fraud detection, and instantaneous cross-border payments.

Additionally, Equinix’s edge computing capabilities enable the financial sector to integrate IoT and AI technologies. For instance, insurance companies can now process data from IoT devices in real-time, enabling more accurate risk assessments and faster claims processing. This convergence of advanced technologies and real-time capabilities opens up new horizons for financial services.

Together with Equinix and Orange Business, the two companies have established a strong partnership to provide BFSI clients with appropriate solutions that are customized to their requirements. Disaster recovery is one of these options, from new, innovative service offerings to the re-architecture of the IT infrastructure in data centers and the cloud. &nbsp,

Christophe Ozer– head of Evolution Platform Orange Business APAC – Cloud, Connectivity, Cybersecurity, shared,” Through our partnership, Orange Business and Equinix are enabling financial institutions to unlock new levels of agility and security, ensuring they remain at the forefront of innovation while meeting the demands of a rapidly changing financial landscape”.

Sustainability in finance

Now, as the financial sector evolves technologically, it’s also grappling with its environmental impact. Here too, Equinix is leading the charge towards sustainable digital infrastructure. Despite growing its global data center footprint and vowing to reach 100 % clean and renewable energy coverage across its global portfolio of data centers by 2030, Equinix reduced its operational scope 1 & 2 emissions by 24 % from a 2019 baseline in 2023. &nbsp,

This initiative extends to all facilities, whether newly constructed or recently incorporated into the company’s portfolio. In Malaysia, Equinix’s data centers are 100 % renewable, and in 2023, Equinix’s global operations had a total renewable energy coverage of 96 %, surpassing 90 % for the sixth consecutive year…

Financial institutions can use cutting-edge digital infrastructure to achieve their own environmental goals while achieving these goals. It’s a win-win scenario where technological advancement aligns with environmental responsibility.

Future-proofing finance

The impact of interconnected ecosystems in finance will only increase as the years go on. Equinix is at the forefront of this trend, expanding its global reach and improving its services indefinitely. The company’s recent expansion into Southeast Asian markets like Malaysia demonstrates its commitment to supporting the sustainable expansion of emerging markets ‘ digital financial services.

For banks and financial institutions, partnering with Equinix offers a clear path to digital transformation. It provides access to a global ecosystem of partners, secure, sustainable and high-performance infrastructure, and the flexibility to innovate and scale rapidly. Equinix’s interconnected ecosystems will undoubtedly have a significant impact on shaping the future of finance as the landscape of the financial services industry continues to evolve.

Ultimately, in this increasingly digital and interconnected world, Equinix is not just providing sustainable infrastructure – it’s powering the future of finance. By enabling secure, compliant, and innovative financial services, Equinix is helping to create a more connected and efficient global financial system, benefiting institutions and consumers alike. &nbsp,

As technology develops, the interaction between financial services and digital infrastructure will continue to spur innovation, creating a more diverse and dynamic financial ecosystem.

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Archegos founder Bill Hwang sentenced to 18 years in prison

Former Wall Street investment, Sung Kook” Bill” Hwang, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison in a huge scam circumstance that cost businesses billions of dollars.

Hwang was found guilty of fraud and business manipulation in a 2021 case involving his investment portfolio Archegos Capital Management.

Before announcing the statement, US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said,” The amount of costs that were caused by your do is larger than any other loss I have dealt with,” according to estimates cited by Reuters media company.

Although the prison sentence for white collar crimes was somewhat shorter than the 21-year prison sentence requested by the prosecution, it is still exceedingly long.

The prosecutor has not yet made an announcement regarding the matter, though the prosecution had even requested compensation. On Thursday, the sentencing hearing will begin.

Hwang was found guilty of lying to the largest investment bankers because he had allegedly lied to many companies in secret.

One of the largest wall account collapses since the 2008 financial crisis occurred when Archegos ‘ failure to pay its creditors caused a massive stock sell-off, which caused the bank to quickly collapse in less than a week.

Credit Suisse, which has since become a part of UBS, Nomura, and Morgan Stanley, are just a few of the major banks that suffered significant losses as a result of Archegos ‘ collapse.

Hwang’s doctors had called for him not to get punished, citing his Christian beliefs and his donations to charity.

They also said his wealth, which at one point was valued at an estimated$ 30bn ( £23.7bn ), had fallen to an estimated$ 55m.

The judge called the requests for leniency “utterly ridiculous” due to the money involved and compared Hwang to the disgraced founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, who received a 25-year sentence for fraud last year, according to Bloomberg.

Hwang’s attorneys did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment right away.

Hwang’s assistant at Archegos and co-defendant, Patrick Halligan, who was also found guilty on three legal fees at the same test, is set to be sentenced at a hearing scheduled for 27 January.

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Time for world to pivot away from the US economy – Asia Times

Donald Trump’s win in the 2024 vote and his danger to impose taxes on all American imports highlight a significant issue for the worldwide market.

The US has won more Nobel rewards in the last five years than any other nation combined and has spent more on research and development than any other nation combined. The world is envious of its innovations and economical accomplishments. However, the rest of the world must exert every effort to avoid becoming very dependant on it.

And if Harris had prevailed, there would n’t have been much of a change.

Donald Trump’s” America first” strategy has actually been republican. The US has been largely inward-looking ever since the power independence policy of past president Barack Obama, putting an end to industrial job outsourcing.

Trump’s first policy was to take higher prices for US consumers, which would have meant imposing high tariffs on nearly every investing partner, to protect regional producers.

For example, Trump’s 2018 levies on washing machines from all over the world mean US consumers have been paying 12 % more for these items.

President Joe Biden– in certainly a more polite way– then increased some of the Trump tariffs: up to 100 % on electric vehicles, 50 % on solar cells and 25 % on batteries from China. This was a clear decision to slow down the energy move in a climate disaster to safeguard US production.

Biden launched a payment competition while agreeing to a tariff truce with Europe, which may have sparked a potentially yet worse conflict.

For example, the US Inflation Reduction Act provides$ 369 billion in incentives for sectors like renewable energy and electric cars. Additionally, the Chips Act authorized$ 52 billion to support the production of computer and semiconductor chips.

China, Europe and the rest of the world

Although this US commercial plan may have been biased toward the outside, there are still serious implications for the rest of the world. China, after years of largely export-based growth, may now deal with huge problems of business overcapacity.

The nation is now attempting to expand its trading partners and encourage more private usage.

Europe, despite a very small budget requirement, spends a lot of money in the rebate competition. Germany, a country facing sluggish growth and big doubts about its&nbsp, industrial model, is committed to matching US subsidies, offering, for instance, &nbsp, €900 million &nbsp, ($ 950 million ) to Swedish battery makers Northvolt to continue producing in the country.

All those grants are causing a negative impact to the global business and could have easily funded urgent needs like solar panel and battery-powered electricity across the entire African continent. Meanwhile, China has replaced the US and Europe as the largest buyer in Africa, following its own interest for organic sources.

Ideas may be fixed by the approaching Trump mission.

One may say that if the Biden administration had known more about the effects of an invasion and had given Kyiv modern arms before the war, the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, along with the thousands of deaths that ensuing, and the energy crisis that ensued, could have been avoided.

But the responsible is mostly on Europe. Trump had a right to credit where it’s expected for his first-term warning about Germany’s proper issue of becoming too dependent on Russian gas.

By putting an end to China’s personal tax battle on Chinese technology like solar panels and electric cars, there is a clear path ahead.

Alternatively of importing record quantities of wet oil from the US, Europe would reestablish some of its original power by producing more of its own fresh energy. China could use its considerable liquidity on Russia to put an end to Ukraine’s war, and it could also learn a few things from working with Chinese companies.

The European Union may put more effort into achieving its goals, which is to sign trade agreements and use them to decrease global carbon emissions. Never just China and Europe are the subjects. After years of&nbsp, ongoing improvement&nbsp, in all main dimensions of human existence, the world is moving downward.

The number of people facing starvation is increasing, taking us back to the rates of 2008-9. War is raging in Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar, Syria, and presently Lebanon. Since 2010, there have n’t been as many civilian casualties in the world.

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For better or worse, it is doubtful that a Trump administration may change the way of lower US meddling. Additionally, it is unlikely to be a major force in the fight against climate change, trade liberalization, or tranquility.

America wo n’t help the world because it is alone.

What will happen to the US is unknown. Trump’s transfer may be largely a continuation of his previous ten years. The US economy will become less important as a result of expensive tariffs or the destruction of the organizations that contributed to its economic powerhouse status.

Americans have chosen this option, and the rest of the world must accept it. The only thing the universe can do in the interim is to learn how to collaborate more effectively without becoming overly dependent on one another.

Renaud Foucart is mature teacher in finance, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster University

The Conversation has republished this post under a Creative Commons license. Read the original content.

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Australia wants to ban kids from social media. Will it work?

Getty Images A young boy looks at a smartphone Getty Images

James describes a Snap affair that made him wonder about safety after describing how he felt “really scared to be honest.”

The Australian boy, 12, had had a disagreement with a friend, and one night before bed the boy added him to a group chat with two older teenagers.

Nearly instantly, his telephone” started blowing off” with a string of violent information.

According to James, “one of them sounded like he was likely 17.” ” He sent me videos of him with a machete… he was waving it about. Next, there were messages threatening to stab me and get me.

James, who is not named as he is, first became a Snap user when he was 10 years old when a student recommended that everyone in their companionship group get the app. But after telling his kids about his bullying experience, which was finally resolved by his class, James deleted his account.

His expertise is a cautionary tale that shows why the American government’s proposed social internet ban on children under 16 is important, says his family Emma, who is also using a pseudonym.

The legislation, which were tabled in parliament’s lower apartment on Thursday, have been billed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as “world-leading”.

While some parents have praised the decision, some experts have questioned whether children should be prevented from using social advertising and what potential negative effects might be.

What is Australia proposing?

According to Albanese, the restrictions, which will apply to websites like X, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, is intended to shield children from “harms” of social media.

” This one is for the parents and fathers… They, like me, are worried tired about the health of our children online”, he said.

The innovative policy provides a “framework” for the ban. But the 17-page report, which is expected to mind to the Senate next month, is sparse on information.

Instead, the eSafety Commissioner, the country’s internet regulator, will decide how to implement and enforce the regulations, which wo n’t take effect for at least 12 months after the legislation is passed.

The act states that the ban will apply to all under-16s, and that existing users and those who have parental consent will not be exempt.

Tech companies will face penalties of up to A$ 50m ($ 32.5m, £25.7 ) if they do not comply, but there will be exemptions for platforms which are able to create “low-risk services” deemed suitable for kids. This level standards are still pending.

Messaging services and gaming sites, however, will not be restricted, which has prompted questions over how regulators will determine what is and is n’t a social media platform in a fast-moving landscape.

The ban was described as” a 20th Century response to 21st Century challenges,” according to a group representing the interests of Australian tech companies like Meta, Snapchat, and X.

Such legislation may force kids into “dangerous, illegal parts of the internet”, Digital Industry Group Inc says- a fear even expressed by some experts.

EPA Prime Minister Anthony AlbaneseEPA

Given that “technology change often outweighs plan,” safety director Julie Inman Grant has acknowledged the enormous job her business will have to carry out in enforcing the restrictions.

” It will always be smooth, and this is why authorities like eSafety have to be nimble”, she told BBC Radio 5 Survive.

However, Ms. Inman Grant has also raised questions about the underlying theory behind the president’s plan, which is that social media is linked to declining mental health.

According to her own company study, which found that some of the most vulnerable organizations, such as LGBTQ or First Nations youth, “feel more self-assured online than they do in the real world,” she said,” the data center is not settled at all.”

Lucas Lane, 15, who sells nail polish to guys, shares this view. ” This]ban ] destroys … my friendships and the ability to make people feel seen”, the Perth teenager tells the BBC.

Ms. Inman Grant favors more funding for education tools to help younger people stay safe online as well as technical companies’ programs ‘ clean up. Instead of enforcing a ban on swimming in babies, she uses the metaphor of teaching them.

She told parliament earlier this year,” We do n’t fence the ocean, but we do create protected swimming environments that provide safeguards and teach crucial lessons from a young age.”

Matthew Abbott Australia's eSafety commissioner Julie Inman GrantMatthew Abbott

But families like Emma see it differently.

When tech companies always want kids to use these challenging methods, should we really been wasting our time trying to help them do so? she says.

Or if we start these discussions later on by allowing them to get kids and learning to be social outside of one another?

The Rush Mate activity, which encourages parents to delay giving their children smartphones, is led by mother-of-three Amy Friedlander, who agrees.

” We ca n’t ignore the advantages that technology has to us.” There are many benefits, but what we do n’t really consider is how it might affect those who are n’t prepared for it.

Also sarcastic of an instrument, to be honest?

Over 100 Australian academics have criticised the ban as “too blunt an instrument” and argued that it goes against UN advice which calls on governments to ensure young people have “safe access” to digital environments.

A bipartisan political committee that has been looking into the effects of social media on children has also been unsuccessful in backing it. Otherwise, the committee recommended that software giant face tougher laws.

The government says it will eventually pass “digital duty of care” regulations, which will require tech companies to prioritize consumer safety in order to solve some of those concerns.

Joanne Orlando, a researcher in digital behaviour, argues that while a ban” could be part of a strategy, it absolutely ca n’t be the whole strategy”.

She believes that teaching children to thoroughly evaluate the information they see on their feeds and how they use social advertising should be the “most important piece of the puzzle.”

The government has already spent A$6m since 2022 to develop free “digital literacy tools” to try and do just that. However, research suggests that many young Australians aren’t receiving regular lessons.

Given the “enormous threats” that might accompany the potential to house every Australian’s identification documents online, Ms. Orlando and other professionals warn that there are also significant challenges in making the age-verification technology necessary to enforce the ban.

Getty Images A child holds a smartphone Getty Images

The government has stated that it intends to use age-verification methods to address that issue and expects to submit a report by the middle of next month. It has promised that privacy issues may be top of mind, but it provided much information about the technology that will truly get tested.

In its guidance, the eSafety Commissioner has floated the idea of using a third-party support to anonymise a person’s ID before it is passed on to any age verification places, to “preserve” their protection.

Yet, Ms Orlando remains wary. She tells the BBC,” I ca n’t think of any technology that can pull this off right now.”

Does Australia succeed?

Australia is not the first nation to attempt to restrict young people’s online access to particular websites or programs.

South Korea passed a” closure rules” in 2011 that forbids children under the age of 16 from accessing online games between 22:30 and 6:00, but the regulations, which faced opposition, were later dropped because they “require the respect of youths.”

France recently passed a law mandating parental consent before social media platforms to prevent exposure to minors under 15 years old. According to research, nearly half of users could bypass the ban with the aid of a straightforward VPN.

A regulation in the US condition of Utah- which was related to Australia’s- ran into a unique problem: it was blocked by a federal judge who found it illegal.

Albanese has conceded that Australia’s proposal may not be foolproof, and if it passes the parliament, it would be subject to a review.

” We are aware that technology is evolving quickly. No one government will be able to defend every child from every threat, but it must take all possible steps, he said in announcing the measure.

But for parents like Emma and Ms Friedlander – who have lobbied for the changes – it’s the message that the ban sends which matters most.

Parents have had to make the difficult choice between giving in to their child’s addiction or seeing them isolated and socially excluded, according to Ms. Friedlander.

” We’ve been ensnared in a culture of which no one wants to be a part.”

James claims that he has started spending more time with friends outside since quitting Snapchat.

And he hopes that more children like him wo n’t feel pressured to be online because of the new laws, which will make it easier for them to “get out and do the things they love.”

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The model, British tech and Russia’s war machine

Instagram A selfie of Valeria Baigascina taken in a rooftop pool in Kuala Lumpur, with the striking skyline with tall towers behind her. Her long dark hair is tied back, she wears a pink bikini and dark sunglasses and a tattoo is visible on her wrist.Instagram

High-tech equipment made by a UK firm worth$ 2.1m ( £1.6m ) has been sold to companies in Russia connected to the military, customs documents seen by BBC News suggest.

According to the documents, a business that was obviously run by a apparel model shipped the British-made camera lenses.

The British producer, Beck Optronic Solutions, which has worked on British Challenger 2 vehicles and F35 fighter jet, told us it had not breached punishment, had no relations with Russia or Kyrgyzstan, and was aware of the supplies.

Since the start of the Ukrainian War, Russia’s ability to withstand punishment has been questioned by our inspection.

The road led us to Valeria Baigascina, a 25-year-old, actually from the central Asian position of Kazakhstan but presently living in Belarus. A part-time design, she comments constantly about her jet-set attitude on social advertising. In the past two decades she has visited Dubai, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.

Our research of customs records revealed that her social media profiles did not indicate that she was also the director of a company that had allegedly given sanctioned Russian companies millions of dollars in gear.

Belarusian subscription information indicates that Ms. Baigascina was the company’s founder and director Rama Group LLC. Set up in February 2023, it is registered to an address in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan- 2, 300 yards (3, 713 miles ) from her residence in Belarus.

Both nations have strong trading ties to Russia, and both are former Communist Unions. Belarus remains Moscow’s strongest alliance in Europe.

A map showing the locations of Beck Optronic Solutions in Hemel Hempstead, UK, and of Rama Group LLC and Shisan LLC in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, as well as Belarus, where Valeria lives, Russia, and Ukraine. The map also shows Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

According to industry statistics, UK exports to Kyrgyzstan have increased by more than 30 % since the sanctions were imposed in February 2022. Some products, according to experts, have a real destination for Moscow.

According to the BBC’s traditions records, Rama Group reportedly sent two shipments of premium optics to Moscow that can be used in tanks, missiles, and other aircraft.

The technology is listed on the customs kind as being made by Beck Optronic Solutions in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. High-quality lens used in surveillance and targeting methods are produced by the company.

Though some of its lens are used in medical and engineering, Beck’s site details substantial military and defence applications.

The lenses and optical technology Beck Optronics sells are particularly categorized as items that need UK regulators ‘ approval before selling them.

An extract from customs documents in cyrillic script, detailing “Beck Optronic Ltd” as manufacturer, "Rama Group LLC" in Bishkek as supplier and Russia as a destination country.

The BBC has identified, through customs documents, a total of six shipments of products said to have been made by Beck with a total value of$ 2.1m ( £1.6m ) and transferred to Moscow through Rama and another intermediary company, Shisan LLC.

Rama Group sent two supplies to Moscow in December 2023 and January 2024, which were described as “rotating parts of camera.” These shipments went to Sol Group, a company based in Smolensk, 200 miles ( 320km ) south-west of Moscow, which has been sanctioned by the US.

The documents indicate that some of the shipments may have really flowed from Thailand, but it’s unclear which global route the goods traveled.

Shisan LLC, another Kyrgyz company, was responsible for four further shipments of Beck Optronics ‘ products worth$ 1.5m ( £1.1m ).

The Ural Optical &amp, Mechanical Plant, which manufactures bomb-aiming products and is also sanctioned for its connections to the Soviet army, received two of those supplies, one of which involved” short-wave infrared camera lenses.”

In Bishkek, a contemporary five-storey wall in a profitable area of the city, Rama Group and Shisan share the same handle. Nonetheless, we were informed that Valeria Baigascina was traveling abroad on a business trip when we arrived.

Through her social media posts, we obtained her phone number and filed our complaints against her.

Instagram A young woman with long brown hair poses with an automatic rifle in what could be a shooting range. She is looking through the telescopic lens, with the muzzle of the gun facing the camera. She has bright yellow nail varnish and wears a leather jacket. Instagram

Ms. Baigascina claimed to have founded the business, but she sold it in May. She denied the claims, saying that when she had owned it, “nothing like that was supplied”. Finally she snorted.

Afterward, by email, she told us the complaints were “ridiculous” and based on “false knowledge”.

Our studies shows that in May this month she sold Rama Group to her best friend, Angelina Zhurenko, who runs a clothing company in Kazakhstan.

According to Ms. Zhurenko,” Investing activities are only conducted within the existing Kyrgyzstani law.” The business does not offend any restrictions. Any additional data is false”.

Instagram In a selfie taken at sunset, a young woman with brown hair tied back is sitting outside a wooden gite She wears a low-cut grey top, earrings and sunglasses, and is smiling at the camera. Instagram

The chairman of the other auxiliary business, Shisan, is listed as Evgeniy Anatolyevich Matveev. We sent him an email with our complaints.

He claimed that our knowledge was “false” and that he owned” a business supplying exclusively human goods made in Eastern nations.”

Because it is difficult to forbid free trade in Asian items available for sale and supply, he continued,” This does not reject the laws of the state in which I work, and it does not have anything to do with US punishment.”

No information exists that Beck Optronics was aware of these shipment details or that Russia was the final location.

Beck, the company, claimed that nothing about the supplies had to do with UK export controls or UK restrictions. It has n’t had any business dealings with any parties or businesses in Russia, Kyrgyzstan, or Thailand, and has n’t received any goods to these countries.

It thinks some of the products on the list was not even produced by the manufacturer and that some customs records may have been forged.

These alleged exports are, however, a component of a much larger image involving shipping coming from a variety of sources.

According to the Washington-based safety think tank C4ADS, Shisan completed 373 supplies from Kyrgyzstan to Russia between July and December 2023, according to an analysis of norms records from C4ADS.

Of these, 288 contained products that fall under traditions standards for “high-priority field things”.

Over the same six-month phase, Rama Group completed a full of 1, 756 supplies to Russia. Of these, 1, 355 were for products on the “high-priority field things” record.

Its most recent supplies, including technology by US and UK businesses, went to a Russian firm named Titan-Mikro, which has been subject to US restrictions since May 2023 for operating within Russia’s military business.

” When they sell this technology to a customer who is likely a Soviet end-user, they entirely should know that this is to eliminate people”, says Olena Tregub from NAKO, Ukraine’s separate anti-corruption company.

She warns that lives are being lost due to the restrictions ‘ regime’s flaws.

” Without those solutions, those weapons had not journey. The mind of those ballistic rockets, the mind of those bomber drones, are made of Eastern technology”, she says.

Getty Images Mr Cameron (L) and Mr Kulubaev (R) shake hands while standing in front of the British and Kyrgyzstan flags. Getty Images

International regulators are aware of Kyrgyzstan’s part in sanctions avoidance.

In April, UK’s foreign minister at the time, David Cameron, travelled to Bishkek and urged the Kyrgyz officials to do more to strengthen their punishment ‘ conformity.

The Kyrgyz leader hoped Lord Cameron’s formal visit would “give new life to multidimensional co-operation between Kyrgyzstan and the UK” as he hoped.

According to David O’Sullivan, the EU’s Special Envoy for the Application of Punishment, “illicit purchasing sites” are still being investigated and” companies are required to conduct due diligence investigations to know who is the ultimate end-user and where “fieldworks” ultimately end up.

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Commentary: Southeast Asia will find Trump’s second trade war harder to weather

More stringent tariffs could force businesses to relocate full industrial ecosystems in his second term. South Asian nations are well-positioned to provide themselves as steady and trustworthy alternatives to high-tech supply chains.

Thailand’s Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan sees opportunity back, noting,” Trump’s win may be useful for Thailand because Republicans are pro-business, and the US-China trade war will continue and effect in more opportunities”.

However, realising this opportunity wo n’t be straightforward. It requires moving beyond low-cost production to create more advanced value-added features. The US may also exert pressure on ASEAN nations or initiate immediate action to restrict Chinese influence in key areas.

A CRITICAL TEST FOR ASEAN

In the upcoming years, Southeast Asia will have to put up a significant check.

Following the initial trade war, China’s developments in emerging industries like electrical automobiles and clean energy technologies present a new concern for ASEAN. ASEAN must balance geopolitical concerns with priorities for business growth because of China’s cost advantages and dominance in these industries, which makes it harder to realize substantial diversification of supply chains.

Balancing the pressures of Trump’s business plans with relationships with both the US and China may involve agility, vision and assistance.

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Musk’s government-by-tech to show the limits of disruption – Asia Times

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, will take over the newly created Department of Government Efficiency alongside fellow software billionaire and former national member Vivek Ramaswamy on November 12th, according to president-elect Donald Trump’s announcement on November 12. The new office will be tasked with reining in state government, curbing federal spending, and reducing rules.

Musk has been vocal in his support of Trump’s campaign, which included probably illegal monetary “giveaways” to citizens. Although Musk is relatively new in electoral politics, technology companies and their leaders have made numerous attempts to restructure public policy and governance, ranging from housing and transportation to city planning.

By looking more closely at some of these efforts, we may be able to get a preview of what Musk’s Department of Government Performance may try to do, what government-by-tech may seem like, and what might go wrong.

Replacing public service

In 2013, Musk himself proposed a new form of public transportation called the “hyperloop” to join Los Angeles and San Francisco. And Musk’s SpaceX aims to outsource the rocket-building business to the government.

But another tech firms have had similar interests.

Uber has made a series of attempts to replace people transport. Companies like Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, have created” intelligent cities” that collect and analyze information about people’s behavior in order to make decisions about providing services, making attempts to replace urban infrastructure.

Perhaps an analyst suggested that public libraries may be replaced by Amazon bookstores. In fields as diverse as cover, personality identification, and education, tech firms have challenged people products.

The boundaries of disturbance

One thing some government-by-tech jobs have in common is a perception that government is inherently inefficient, and that (unregulated ) technology can offer better options.

Silicon Valley software companies have huge espoused “disruption“, the idea of overthrowing a dead standing status with technology. Unlike people agencies, the reasoning goes, companies is “move fast and break things” to discover new and more effective ways to deliver services and price.

Tech firms that adhere to this theory have undoubtedly provided service that many of us use frequently in our day-to-day lives and generated significant profits. But this does n’t mean the Silicon Valley model makes sense for public administration. In reality, the information suggests something more like the same.

A record of disappointment

Tech’s attempts to provide public companies have had mixed results.

Innisfil, Canada, switched to Uber in 2017 to replace all of its public transportation options. The result was a rise in city costs ( in Uber’s fees ), more cars traveling, and more expensive transportation for low-income residents.

After encountering concerns regarding protection and planning, Sidewalk Labs ‘ smart-city trial in Toronto was abandoned in 2021.

The software industry’s disruption has worsened existing issues, with Airbnb and other short-term rental firms playing a role in the housing crisis.

Small solutions for slim problems

Additionally, tech firms typically concentrate on a select few issues. Silicon Valley has helped us to find a car, choose a restaurant for dinner, manage quickly around a town, transfer money to our friends, and search for the best rental for our vacation.

It has provided fewer options for getting low-income cover, providing treatment for the younger, or reducing our power usage. There are significant benefits to this: technology companies want to tap wealthy buyers with disposable income to generate income.

These disparities even reflect Silicon Valley’s lack of diversity, though. Tech remains mostly white, mostly female, generally upper-middle course, typically highly educated. This affects the troubles and answers Silicon Valley finds.

The secret business will suffer from all of this. However, the government’s primary function is to look after all of its citizens, not merely owners or buyers ( or even just those who voted for it ).

The couple get a dozen services.

The issue is that Silicon Valley’s “efficiencies” and solutions may end up delivering the few at the price of the many. Some “inefficiencies” of public service arise from the truth they are designed to get as many people into accounts as possible.

Rules and protections for older people, for those with disability, for those who may not speak English as a second language, for instance, all create the need for more government and more rules.

Musk has compared the public transportation system to a “pain in the pussy” where possible serial killers must be positioned next to one another. Of course, in some places public transportation carries no such discrimination. Additionally, many people who prefer to travel by private jet ( or even Tesla ) may have no other choice but to rely on a public bus for their needs.

One of SpaceX’s aims is to reduce the cost of a trip to Mars to under US$ 1 million. This would be a extraordinary success, but it means that Musk’s imagined Mars settlement may be very wealthy. As a form of public policy, spacecraft and hyperloops are terribly insufficient.

Unromantic needs

The technology sector itself depends on existing facilities and institutions, even though the idea of disruption attempts to minimize its impact.

Uber depends on roads and vehicles, as well as the institutions that maintain them, and Airbnb depends on brick-and-mortar construction, as do Amazon and eBay, which rely on postal service and travel system.

All tech companies rely on solid, enforceable financial, property, and tax laws. These outdated institutions and infrastructures may not be attractive or even effective.

However, these so-called inefficiencies have often evolved in ways aligned with fairness, justice, and inclusivity. Silicon Valley tech companies ‘ past records do not support their positions on these issues.

Hallam Stevens is professor of interdisciplinary studies, James Cook University

The Conversation has republished this article under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Note to Trump: Targeted tariffs can work, broad ones never do – Asia Times

Taxes are back on the agenda because Trump is about to reoccupy the White House. Basically, they never left — Biden&nbsp, slapped large tariffs&nbsp, on a variety of Taiwanese products, including electric cars, cards, and other things.

But Trump is contemplating tariffs that are &nbsp, far broader in scope&nbsp, — a 60 % tariff on all Chinese-made products, and a 20 % tariff on all imports from anywhere.

There are important differences between cover levies like Trump’s and targeted tariffs like Biden’s. I’m not certain whether Trump’s business individuals, including&nbsp, Robert Lighthizer, are informed this distinction or never, but it’s important. Like the fact that&nbsp, imports do n’t subtract from GDP, it’s something that people who debate trade policy often seem not to understand.

What is the goal of levies?

First, let’s discuss about two different things you might want tariffs to perform.

One purpose of taxes is to&nbsp, lower US dependence on China&nbsp, — or on the outside world in general —&nbsp, in a particular set of essential business. For instance, if China makes all the chargers, they may just decide to cut you off whenever they want to — as&nbsp, China just did to America’s top aircraft manufacturer, Skydio.

Uavs are a key tool of modern war — perhaps&nbsp, the&nbsp, vital tool. And some robots are battery-powered. So if the US goods all its capacitors from China, it kind of puts the US at China’s kindness. Thus, we might want to use tariffs to make sure that China does n’t make all our batteries.

A second purpose of taxes is to&nbsp, lower business imbalances. The US runs a very big deal deficit, and China runs a very large trade deficit. In fact, trade is currently essentially balanced across all of the world’s nations, with the exception of the US and China. China’s trade deficit accounts for&nbsp, the vast majority of all international trade deficits, and America’s trade gap accounts for&nbsp, the vast majority of international trade imbalances:

Origin: &nbsp, Brad Setser

Many nations ‘ trade deficits with China and their trade surpluses with America result in healthy business. That does n’t mean they’re buying stuff from China, slapping a new label on it, and selling it on to America. However, what it does mean is that China is the nation’s key” country that sells more than it buys,” while America is the world’s key” state that buys more than it sells.”

Many people want to reduce those imbalances. Some people ( probably correctly ) think that because of these significant trade deficits, American manufacturers lose important markets overseas.

Others believe that global trade imbalances lead to various other economic problems — for example, Michael Pettis, who believes&nbsp, imbalances drive inequality. Still others simply view trade deficits as a “loss” and trade surpluses as a “win” .1&nbsp, Reducing America’s trade deficit was one of&nbsp, the major goals of Trump’s first term in office.

In fact, trade deficits are severely affected by both broad and targeted tariffs. But targeted tariffs&nbsp, are &nbsp, capable of reducing US dependencies in specific areas like batteries — in fact, they’re better than broad tariffs for this purpose. Let me explain.

Broad tariffs struggle to reduce trade deficits

There are actually two reasons that broad tariffs, like the ones Trump is proposing, have difficulty reducing trade deficits. The first reason is&nbsp, exchange rate adjustment.

When you trade stuff internationally, you have to&nbsp, swap currencies. As anyone who has traveled overseas knows, to buy Chinese goods, you need <a href="https://asiatimes.com/2024/11/trump-tariffs-threaten-to-torpedo-the-yuan/”>yuan. 2&nbsp, So if you’re an American, you need to swap your dollars for <a href="https://asiatimes.com/2024/11/trump-tariffs-threaten-to-torpedo-the-yuan/”>yuan in order to buy stuff from China. The exchange rate refers to the price at which dollars and <a href="https://asiatimes.com/2024/11/trump-tariffs-threaten-to-torpedo-the-yuan/”>yuan exchange each other are exchanged.

China’s demand for Chinese goods is slowed when the US imposes tariffs on it. And that reduces US demand for Chinese&nbsp, yuan, because when Americans do n’t need to buy as much Chinese stuff, they do n’t need as much yuan.

And when demand for yuan goes down, the price of yuan, in terms of dollars, goes down. This is just basic Econ 101, supply-and-demand stuff. The dollar&nbsp, appreciates&nbsp, in value and the yuan&nbsp, depreciates&nbsp, in value. This is called “exchange rate adjustment”.

The impact of the tariffs is partially offset by the exchange rate adjustment. When tariffs make the yuan get cheaper for Americans, that makes&nbsp, Chinese goods cheaper for American customers. And when tariffs make the dollar get more expensive for Chinese people, that makes&nbsp, American goods get more expensive for Chinese customers.

This does n’t completely cancel out the effect of tariffs, but it&nbsp, partially&nbsp, cancels it out. Similar to how pizza restaurants would reduce their prices in response to the government’s taxation of pizza in order to reduce the number of people who no longer eat it.

Of course in the real world, there are more than just two currencies, and more than just two countries trading with each other. However, if you examine the data, it is obvious how much Trump’s tariffs affected China during his first term.

The price of the yuan is represented by the red line in this Jeanne and Son’s ( 2023 ) chart, which shows the dollar’s value.

Source: &nbsp, Jeanne and Son ( 2023 )

You can see that when Trump put tariffs on many Chinese goods, the dollar got stronger ( in fact, it got stronger a little&nbsp, before&nbsp, the tariffs officially went into effect, because people knew the tariffs were about to go into effect ), and the yuan got weaker.

China’s tariffs were less impactful, partly because China buys relatively little from the US in the first place. According to Jeanne and Son,” the US’s tariffs implemented by the US account for about 22 % of the dollar’s appreciation and 65 % of the renminbi depreciation observed in 2018-19.”

How much of the tariffs ‘ effect is canceled out by this exchange rate movement? &nbsp, In theory, it’s possible&nbsp, for it to cancel out 100 %! Everyone who is involved in the exchange rate exchange can say” OK, tariffs made Chinese goods more expensive in America, so we’ll just say that the actual price of Chinese goods is the same, so everyone in America can just keep buying exactly the same amount as before. Good job everyone, glad we got that sorted out”.

Remember that this is not a free market; instead, the Chinese government likely intentionally devalues the yuan to prevent losing market share in export markets.

In reality, exchange rates only cancel out&nbsp, part&nbsp, of the effect of tariffs. A number of factors prevent exchange rates from fully adapting to the new tax, including the fact that most trade imbalances would be eliminated if one billion percent tariffs were applied to everything. So it’s really anempirical&nbsp, question as to how much exchange rates cancel out tariffs.

A theoretical model that Jeanne and Son use to arrive at a number range of 30 to 35 % is used. That’s a substantial decrease already, and I actually think the true number is likely to be higher, especially where China is concerned3. If all of the yuan’s movement against the dollar during this time were due to Trump’s tariffs, it would mean that&nbsp, exchange rate adjustment canceled out around 75 % &nbsp, of the tariffs ‘ effect!

And this is n’t the only factor in broad tariffs ‘ efforts to lessen trade imbalances! There’s at least one more. Broad tariffs also&nbsp, raise costs for American manufacturers, without increasing costs for Chinese manufacturers.

Take the automobile market for instance. Automobile manufacturers make a lot of steel and aluminum. Costs for American car manufacturers increase as steel and aluminum cost more. That makes them less competitive, both in the domestic market and abroad.

Steel and aluminum will be among the products that the US will impose broad tariffs on. Due to the tariffs, GM, Ford, and Tesla will have to raise the prices of their cars in order to avoid having to pay higher steel and aluminum prices.

But BYD and other Chinese car companies&nbsp, wo n’t &nbsp, have higher costs, because the tariff only applies in America. Thus, Chinese automakers will have a clear advantage over American automakers. That will lower the cost of Chinese car imports and increase the cost of American car exports.

In fact, we have good evidence that this happens. &nbsp, Lake and Liu ( 2022 ) &nbsp, study the effects of Bush-era tariffs on steel and aluminum, and found that they hurt steel-consuming industries like the auto industry:

In response to the local labor market’s dependence on steel both as an input and as a component of local production, President Bush imposed safeguard tariffs on steel in early 2002. [ W]e analyze the local labor market’s employment effects of these tariffs.

After Bush removed the tariffs, local steel employment did not significantly decline after the tariffs were removed, but local employment in the steel-consuming industries did for years. The tariffs also caused steel-intensive manufacturing facilities to leave the workforce, which suggests that plant-level fixed entry costs play a role in converting temporary shock into long-lasting outcomes.

The same effect will apply to trade balances as Lake and Liu are examining employment outcomes. Across-the-board tariffs make US-made cars and semiconductors and washing machines and refrigerators and farm equipment and robots more expensive, because they raise the cost of imported inputs like steel, aluminum, photoresist, batteries, and so on. But foreign-made products can still get cheap inputs, because they are n’t paying tariffs.

It will obviously reduce some of the impact of tariffs on trade balances by making American manufacturers pay more in price than their foreign competitors.

So between these two effects, we can expect Trump’s big “tariffs on everything” to have a disappointingly small effect on the US trade deficit — not&nbsp, zero&nbsp, effect, but less than Trump would like.

This is what happened in Trump’s first term, when the US trade deficit did n’t shrink at all4&nbsp, despite his tariffs:

Now, Trump’s tariffs did have &nbsp, some&nbsp, effect in shifting US deficits away from China, as I’ll discuss in the next section. They were a total bust, however, in terms of reducing the US’ total trade deficit with the rest of the world. It’s not difficult to understand why that was the case when we consider intermediate goods and exchange rate appreciation.

Targeted tariffs can effectively lower particular US dependencies.

Far from it, I do n’t want to suggest that tariffs are ineffective. Effectively, limiting tariffs on particular imported goods can divert the demand away from those imports.

Suppose we put a 1000 % tariff on Chinese-made computers. In 2022, the US&nbsp, bought$ 51 billion worth of computers from China&nbsp, — about 9.4 % of our total imports from China.

Imagine that we inflated the cost of Chinese computers by ten times using tariffs. Americans would no longer purchase computers from China, choosing to purchase ones made in America, Mexico, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

In fact, Mexico, Taiwan, and Vietnam are currently our biggest foreign sources of computers besides China, and along with local American factories, they’re probably perfectly capable of ramping up production to meet our needs:

Source: &nbsp, OEC. Note:” Chinese Taipei” is a fake name for Taiwan, which the OEC uses in order to avoid offending the government of China.

Now, at this point, you may say,” Well, but the Mexican-made computers and the Vietnamese-made computers will have a bunch of Chinese chips and screens in them, so we’ll still be importing stuff from China”.

And you’re absolutely right! There is no reliable way for America to determine how many Chinese components are present in the finished goods we import. Similarly, if we taxed imports of Chinese batteries, we would n’t currently be able to apply those tariffs to Chinese-made batteries contained in Mexican-made cars or Vietnamese-made phones.

But suppose we&nbsp, improved our data&nbsp, so that we&nbsp, did&nbsp, know which parts came from where. Then, using tariffs, we could completely eliminate Chinese manufacturers from our supply chains for chips, batteries, or anything else.

And broad tariffs significantly outperform targeted tariffs in terms of achieving the objective of securing particular supply chains. One reason is that targeted tariffs&nbsp, do n’t have nearly as big an effect on exchange rates&nbsp, as broad tariffs.

If you put a 1000 % tariff on Chinese computers, that only affects 9.4 % of the US demand for Chinese goods. That wo n’t significantly affect exchange rates. US demand for Chinese goods overall wo n’t fall much, but it will shift to other stuff — plastic, clothes, broadcasting equipment, machinery, or whatever.

The exchange rate will change significantly more, which will largely offset any significant impact on any particular imported good, while applying a tariff on all Chinese goods, including the plastics, clothing, broadcasting equipment, machinery, and everything else.

Additionally, targeted tariffs address the intermediate-goods issue that I previously covered. Yes, if you put a 1000 % tariff on Chinese batteries, that will hurt American EV manufacturers. However, this might be okay if you believe the battery supply chain is more strategic than the EV supply chain, perhaps because batteries also enter drones.

Targeted tariffs work like a scalpel, allowing you to cut out exactly the import types you do n’t want while keeping the less crucial items untouched. Targeted tariffs are very effective if your goal is to secure specific strategic supply chains, even though they wo n’t reduce trade deficits. Fortunately, Robert Lighthizer is probably thinking about this, as evidenced by this passage from his book, &nbsp,” No Trade is Free“:

But this means that Trump’s 20 % tariff on all imports from all countries would actually&nbsp, weaken&nbsp, the effect of his 60 % tariffs on China! If we only tax Chinese imports, we can shift demand away from China to other countries. But if we tax imports from everywhere, the dollar will appreciate, which will cancel out some of the impact of the China tariffs.

Therefore, tariffs should n’t be applied to imports from other nations if what the US wants to achieve is to reduce its bilateral trade deficit with China. Trump’s 20 % across-the-board tariff idea would n’t reduce our trade deficit meaningfully, but it would make it harder to shift our supply chain out of China.

So how&nbsp, do &nbsp, you reduce global trade imbalances?

Anyway, that’s all well and good. But suppose we really&nbsp, do &nbsp, want to reduce the US trade deficit. How do we do that? And how do we do it without kneecapping our own manufacturers?

I’ll write a lot more about this, but the short answer is to reduce trade deficits, &nbsp, you need to depreciate the US dollar. Remember that Americans are encouraged to purchase more foreign-made goods while the price of a higher dollar forces them to compete for US exports? Well, if you’re going to reduce the trade deficit, you need to counteract that somehow.

Stephen Miran of Hudson Bay Capital has &nbsp, a good post&nbsp, explaining that the real problem here is the US dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency. Here, from X, is the upshot:

The truth is that the” strong dollar” is probably the root cause of America’s chronic, persistent trade deficits. A strong dollar or a strong manufacturing and export sector are the choices for US leaders. So far, we’ve always chosen the former. If Trump really wants to get rid of the US trade deficit, he’s going to have to dump this long-standing policy. But that’s a topic for another day.

Notes:

1 This attitude often goes by the name of “mercantilism”, though it’s a bit different from the original&nbsp, early modern European version.

2 Yuan is actually a nickname for China’s currency, the renminbi or RMB.

3 Personally, I think Jeanne and Son’s approach to China is incorrect because it assumes that Chinese government policies share the same goals as American government policies.

In reality, Xi Jinping cares a LOT about establishing China’s position in global manufacturing markets, so he’ll likely devalue the Chinese currency in response to US tariffs. China has the power to manage its capital account if it so desires and frequently does.

4 This is true as a percent of GDP, as shown in the chart. In dollar terms, the trade deficit&nbsp, actually got worse under Trump. In fact, these trade deficit numbers have some big problems — they do n’t measure&nbsp, value-added trade, and some of the trade they do measure is basically&nbsp, faked for tax avoidance purposes. No matter what method we use, the US trade deficit is still unaffected by Trump’s tariffs.

This&nbsp, article&nbsp, was first published on Noah Smith’s Noahpinion&nbsp, Substack and is republished with kind permission. Become a Noahopinion&nbsp, subscriber&nbsp, here.

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Fox companies Good Foodie Media and Involve Asia are driving the MarTech industry forward

  • MarTech-driven e-commerce projected to reach US$ 7.88B by end-2024
  • Both businesses are driving business growth through MDEC’s Wolf Programme

Rene Menezes, president and co-founder of Involve Asia (1st from right) and Lim Pinn Yang, co-founder and CEO of Good Foodie Media (2nd from left) were panellists at the recent Endeavor Future Forum 2.0. (Picture credit: MDEC)

The evolving integration of technology across a range of industries to stay ahead is what is driving the modern economy’s transformation. With Malaysia’s aim for the digital economy to contribute&nbsp, 25.5 % to the nation’s GDP by the end of 2025, it underscores the crucial role of businesses including marketing technology ( MarTech ) and digital creative content in driving this upward trajectory.

The digital creative content segment alone generated an impressive US$ 1.2 billion ( RM5.6 billion ) in 2021 and the ecommerce sector, driven by MarTech, is expected to reach US$ 7.88 billion ( RM35.2 billion ) by the end of the year.

The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation ( MDEC )’s national strategic initiative, which offers a myriad of enabling incentives for Malaysian businesses and Rakyat to play a leading role in the global digital revolution and digital economy, is a catalyst for the growth of these crucial digital economy segments.

The Founders Centre of Excellence ( FOX ) program, a bespoke program designed for specific businesses that showcase high-growth growth with the potential to become the next scaleup tech icons, has also been introduced in conjunction with the MD initiative. Important MarTech industry players, such as MD standing companies Good Foodie Media and Involve Asia, have been identified by MDEC as being at the forefront of the digital revolution and using their expertise to form and shape the online landscape.

The electronic economy is inventive

The expansion of information development during the pandemic opened up new opportunities for collaboration with in-demand designers. Through a varied approach that involves both publishers and articles creators, Good Foodie Media, a media company focused on food and cooking online content, has benefited from this synergy to assist brands promote their products. Consumer reliance on digital communication was further increased as a result of the pandemic, increasing Good Foodie Media‘s reputation as a reliable source of high-quality content.

The team behind Good Foodie Media unwinding at their recent company annual dinner after a successful year (Picture Credit: Foodie Media)

” During the epidemic, there were movements power purchases,” according to our advertising section. We changed our websites so that internet marketing could be implemented. In doing so, we were able to increase our profit and survive the challenging time. This has taught us to use our already-available tools in times of difficulty, according to Nicholas Lim Pinn Yang, co-founder and CEO of Good Foodie Media.

By properly integrating native consumer behavior with regional consumer behavior in the food and beverage sector, the system that seamlessly integrates articles with commerce has gained widespread support.

The platform has seen considerable success over the years thanks to the major success it has experienced since Lim’s founding in 2017 and several other co-founders since then. After receiving their first cash from an angel investor, they expanded into Kuala Lumpur, expanding from a 1, 000-strong fan base focused on the Penang cooking field to over 30 million users today.

With the major traction we had, we were able to rapidly rise up the ranks and gain access to Johor. He continues,” We therefore diversified our platforms to different verticals to meet people in different consumer demands, including Malaysia Homie, Bangkok Foodie, ChiHou, and Halal Foodie,” he adds.

” We’re working on creating a software program that seamlessly combines commerce and content with the goal of streamlining local consumer behaviour in the F&amp, B room,” according to our strategic hinge. With our 30 million-strong captive audience, we see this as a key opportunity to create an integrated experience that enhances engagement and drives growth in this sector” ,&nbsp, Lim said.

The second installment of Good Foodie Media’s advertising campaign, which partnered with Funding Societies, was launched in association with Maybank and PayNet in 2024. To time, Good Foodie Media has aided over 15, 000 MSME.

In the same year, MDEC gave Good Foodie Media the distinction of being a significant person in the country’s modern economy.

The online advertising market is on the rise.

The most popular online marketing and partner control program in Southeast Asia through the Squirrel program, Involve Asia, has revolutionized how brands and advertisers collaborate with publishers and influencers to create performance-based advertising campaigns. The platform has empowered over 500 brands to reach millions of consumers through its network of 400, 000 affiliate partners, driving a total transaction value of over US$ 1.5 billion ( RM6.7 billion ) since its establishment a decade ago.

Rene Menezes, president and co-founder, Involve Asia (2nd from right) receiving the Malaysia’s Affiliate Marketing Pioneer Award from Amiruddin Abdul Shukor, head of Corporate Services of MDEC. (Picture credit: MDEC)

” What sets Involve Asia off is its&nbsp, commitment to transparency, performance monitoring, and data-driven insight, making it a trusted partner for organizations looking to expand their digital footprint across the place”, says Rene Menezes, president and co-founder of Involve Asia.

Backed by popular opportunity capital and private equity firms like 500 Startups, OSK Technology Ventures, and Bintang Capital Partners, the company has established a solid presence across Asia, with offices across six countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.

Last year alone, Involve Asia raised over US$ 10 million ( RM44.6 million ) in funding to fuel its expansion and product development. The company’s remarkable achievement led to a 150 % annualised growth rate from its beginning stages to pre-IPO success.

The potential of MarTech has been successfully used by Involve Asia to spur growth and spur innovation in digital marketing. By integrating sophisticated equipment, Involve Asia optimises strategy management, enabling detailed targeting and real-time efficiency analytics. These abilities have enabled the business to implement effective strategies that have constantly yielded higher ROI for their clients, including data-driven influence marketing campaigns and highly personalized affiliate programs.

Their creative thinking and creative use of technologies have not only provided thousands of SMEs with new opportunities, but they also established new standards for the environment. The MarTech and online innovative industries act as catalysts for a more diverse and robust digital economy in addition to being growth drivers. These companies are maximizing the full potential of these sectors with MDEC’s proper support, ensuring overall financial growth. &nbsp,

These organizations are poised to remain at the forefront of the online business, supporting progress and enabling businesses to grow in an extremely competitive and technologically connected world as they continue to embrace and progress with the most recent developments in MarTech and electronic information.

For Malaysian online standing companies, MDEC offers a variety of programs. Work for this Malaysia Digital Status.

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