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Last call: Jetstar Asia's final flight from Singapore departs
By CNA/Raydza Rahman and Justin Ong Guang-Xi
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CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
Singapore gets Apple Maps' Detailed City Experience with custom 3D landmarks and new features
iPhone and iPad users in Singapore will now be able to get an upgraded Apple Maps experience, thanks to the new Detailed City Experience update that was rolled out on Thursday (Aug 7). Singapore is also the first city and country in Asia to receive the update. The new Apple Maps experience will let you zoom in to check out a highly detailed Singapore map that features custom designed 3D landmarks that will be familiar to locals and really helpful for tourists, such as the Fullerton Hotel, Lau Pa Sat, the Merlion, as well as Apple's floating Marina Bay Sands store. These custom models will also feature special dark modes that light up when the display on the phone switches to Dark Mode. Other improvements include detailed roads that will not only show highways and bypasses, but also lane markings with arrows, bus lanes and even zebra crossings. There are also a lot more trees in the new Apple Maps experience which help make the map feel more realistic. Also available in the update are guides to locations, which feature curated content that you can explore if you're planning to look up new eateries or dating hotspots. For drivers, Apple Maps will now have a 'windshield view' that gives you a road level view so you can easily know which exit to take from the highway, while pedestrians can now enjoy a new immersive AR experience that will guide them to where they need to go easily. To access the new features, swipe up with two fingers on the screen to turn the 2D Apple Maps into 3D. From there you can pan and scroll around to explore the new custom models of Singapore's landmarks and explore the new look. Apple Maps is not the only map app to offer a detailed experience. Google Maps also has something similar. For example, San Francisco and Tokyo in Google Maps offer street level information with traffic lights, crosswalks and 3D models.
CNA
7 hours ago
- CNA
Ctrl-Alt-Pivot? Why China's tech titans are powering up in Southeast Asia
SHANGHAI: At Singapore's Jewel Changi Airport, a smiling digital concierge powered by Tencent Cloud greets travellers, offering directions, dining tips and real-time shopping recommendations in five languages. Once the realm of science fiction, such smart services are increasingly becoming everyday realities across Southeast Asia - and China is positioning itself at the heart of this digital transformation. From cloud deployments in Jakarta to artificial intelligence (AI) models tailored for Thai users, China's tech titans - Alibaba, ByteDance, SenseTime, Tencent and others - are expanding their regional footprint with new scale and sophistication. Heightened US-China tensions, tighter export controls and volatile Western markets have spurred Chinese firms to look beyond the West. Analysts say Southeast Asia has emerged as a key focus, a view echoed by Chinese tech executives in interviews with CNA. 'It's very clear to me that the investment is real. The market opportunity they are envisioning is real,' Ray Wang, research director for semiconductors, supply chain and emerging tech at advisory firm The Futurum Group, told CNA. But rather than a short-term pivot, observers say the shift is the result of a long-cultivated strategy - a multi-billion-dollar digital courtship aimed at turning Southeast Asia into a cornerstone of China's next global tech chapter. TECH, TIE-UPS AND TRANSFORMATION While an overall headline figure is hard to pin down, Chinese tech firms have been pouring billions of dollars into the region. In February, TikTok - the ByteDance-owned social media platform facing a potential ban in the United States - pledged US$8.8 billion over the next five years to build data centres and digital infrastructure in Thailand. Alibaba Cloud is also scaling up, announcing in July its third data centre in Malaysia, with another due to open in the Philippines this October. This development is part of Alibaba's 380 billion yuan (US$53 billion) investment plan in AI and cloud infrastructure over the next three years, a sum the company has said exceeds its total spending in this area over the past decade. The launch of its AI Global Competency Center in Singapore last month further underscores its regional ambitions, with the facility aiming to support AI adoption for more than 5,000 companies and 100,000 developers worldwide. SenseTime has also deepened its engagement in Southeast Asia. Best known for its AI and computer vision software, the firm signed an agreement with the Indonesian government at the recent World AI Conference in Shanghai. The agreement centres on jointly developing homegrown AI models, smart city technologies and nurturing local AI talent. It builds on SenseTime's existing footprint in smart city and green technology solutions in Singapore and Malaysia. All these moves are backed by massive national-level investment. Chinese AI capital expenditure is on track to reach US$98 billion this year, up 48 per cent from the previous year, according to a report by Bank of America, driving home Beijing's ambition to lead globally in AI, cloud computing and smart infrastructure. On the ground, Chinese technologies are increasingly embedded in everyday life and business operations across Southeast Asia. In June, GoTo Group and Alibaba Cloud announced the successful migration of GoTo Financial's infrastructure to Alibaba Cloud's data centres in Jakarta. In the Philippines, media organisation ABS-CBN uses Alibaba Cloud services for content storage and archiving, while in Thailand, the company partners with telecoms provider TrueBusiness to support digital transformation for local enterprises. At Indonesia's Telkomsel, Tencent Cloud's AI-powered palm verification technology is used to confirm users' identities and enable secure payments. In Malaysia, mobile network provider YTL Communications leverages Tencent's digital ID tools to streamline mobile registrations and curb fraud. 'We have helped many Southeast Asian enterprises adopt a robust multi-cloud strategy that is best suited to their business and compliance needs,' Bluefin Zhao, vice president of Tencent Cloud and managing director for APAC, told CNA. 'Our clients scale their business growth and success together with us in an ongoing and long-term manner,' he added. Zhao noted that Tencent's presence is particularly strong in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand - priority markets where the company has made 'significant headway', achieving double-digit growth rates over the past three years. He linked this progress to Tencent's roots in consumer technology. 'We have decades of experience from running one of the world's largest digital ecosystem platforms, WeChat/Weixin, that serves over a billion users to the largest video gaming ecosystems in the world,' Zhao said. That expertise is now powering Tencent's next-generation AI push. Its large model technology, Hunyuan, has recently been integrated into more than 700 internal products across Tencent's ecosystem, spanning 30 industries from public services and healthcare to tourism and finance. Large model technology refers to AI systems trained on vast amounts of data to perform a wide range of complex tasks, such as understanding language, generating content and analysing patterns. Wu Yongjian, the head of Tencent Cloud AI product and technology R&D, told CNA that Hunyuan delivers strong performance without heavy computing requirements, making it a good fit for mid-sized businesses and fast-growing markets. QUICK SHIFT OR COMMITTED STRATEGY? Geopolitical tensions are among the factors prompting Chinese tech firms to look more closely at Southeast Asia, as business with the West grows increasingly fraught, analysts say. The US has ramped up export controls on advanced semiconductors, placed dozens of Chinese tech firms on its export control entity list and urged allies and partners to curb reliance on Chinese digital infrastructure. But observers say it's not the overriding reason. Instead, they point to business fundamentals - from booming digital demand to favourable demographics - as the main drivers behind China's deepening tech pivot to the region. '(It is) a medium to long-term strategy for (the Chinese companies) to drive more growth to places beyond China and the North American market,' said Wang from The Futurum Group. Wang said Southeast Asia is 'naturally' appealing to Chinese tech companies due to years of business familiarity, established relationships and geographic proximity. These factors lower barriers to expansion and make it simpler to deploy talent and run cross-border operations compared to more distant markets, he said. 'Culturally, it's just a lot easier for Chinese companies to figure out … geographically, it's also a lot closer for the companies to set up their headquarters (in the region) and send the employees there.' Jia Kai, an associate professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University's School of International and Public Affairs, highlighted the diversity of Southeast Asia and the varying levels of AI maturity across its economies. 'The Southeast Asian market is important because if we want to realise the potential of AI, we still need many applications in different fields, in different cultures and environments,' he told CNA. 'The most important thing for AI is to find different environments … the digital infrastructure of Southeast Asia has already been well established.' Senior executives from major Chinese tech firms interviewed by CNA also emphasised that Southeast Asia is a core strategic focus, especially considering the growing regional demand for AI services in the region. Governments, businesses and consumers are rapidly adopting AI-powered services to drive growth, boost efficiency and enhance daily life - a shift fuelled by urbanisation, mobile-first consumer behaviour and national efforts to digitise economies. AI, including its generative form, is expected to contribute around US$120 billion to Southeast Asia's gross domestic product (GDP) by 2027, according to an April report by Boston Consulting Group. Global management consulting firm iMARC Group noted that the Southeast Asian cloud computing market reached US$208.8 billion last year, and is projected to grow at a 10.49 per cent compound annual growth rate to exceed US$512 billion by 2033. Wu, the head of Tencent Cloud AI product and technology R&D, said that the company 'absolutely sees' Southeast Asia as a key strategic region, both as a market and as a testbed for refining its offerings. Fellow Tencent Cloud executive Zhao added that the region's rapid digital transformation, driven by progressive enterprises and supportive national policies, has been a 'key catalyst' for the company's accelerated growth there. 'The region is incredibly diverse and dynamic, with markets and industry verticals at varying stages of digital maturity,' Zhao said, adding that this presents opportunities as businesses seek customised digital solutions. In the case of the digital concierge at Jewel Changi Airport, for instance, early results from the pilot that began in March show that travellers prefer this intuitive, hands-free mode of engagement over traditional directories. Jeff Shi, SenseTime's Asia Pacific president, described the Southeast Asia market as 'huge and characterised by a young population' compared to others such as Northeast Asia, where the market is smaller and dominated by major corporations such as Sony and Honda. 'We are seeing faster growth and investing more, with over half of our approximately 200 enterprise customers in Asia based in Southeast Asia. Singapore, in particular, acts as a showcase for the region,' Shi told CNA. Choong Hon Keat, Singapore country manager at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, said that Alibaba Cloud likewise views Southeast Asia as a key market, driven by 'escalating demand from local customers'. He added that a skilled workforce is the 'cornerstone' of successful digital transformation. 'We are unwavering in our commitment to invest in the development of digital talent (in the region),' Choong told CNA. Across the region, Alibaba Cloud is forging academic alliances. In Singapore, it has partnered with Nanyang Technological University to establish the Alibaba-NTU Global e-Sustainability CorpLab, aimed at advancing green technologies and promoting sustainable living. Meanwhile in the Philippines, the company has forged a partnership with De La Salle University to train students in advanced AI and cloud computing technologies. BUILDING TRUST ALONGSIDE INFRASTRUCTURE Even as Chinese tech firms eye further inroads into Southeast Asia, analysts warn that obstacles lie in store. Many governments and major firms in Southeast Asia remain more familiar with and are often deeply integrated into Western technology ecosystems. A 2023 report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies noted that US cloud giants such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Auzure and Google Cloud maintain a dominant foothold in the region. At the same time, the report found that US cloud computing companies face rising competition from Chinese rivals. It did not provide specific market share figures. This legacy integration - especially in government, banking, and regulated industries - means that most national agencies and large enterprises deploy hybrid or multi-cloud strategies, layering Western and Chinese infrastructure to balance performance with security and regulatory compliance. Jia from Shanghai Jiao Tong University said that adapting to divergent AI regulatory frameworks across the region poses a major hurdle for Chinese tech firms. CNA previously reported on how a race for AI regulation is taking place to avert the risks of the technology while hopefully reaping the rewards, with action being taken at the global, regional and national levels, including in Southeast Asia. This regulatory patchwork means that building trust will be just as important as building infrastructure, observers say. 'At present, I think misunderstanding and mistrust are the most significant bottlenecks to future cooperation or for Chinese tech companies entering the Southeast Asian market,' Jia said. Some companies in the region may have reservations about adopting Chinese cloud services or AI, said Wang from The Futurum Group. These concerns often centre on data privacy, regulatory compliance, and potential geopolitical pressure, particularly as governments grow more sensitive to issues of digital sovereignty and foreign influence. The Chinese tech firms will also need to carefully balance their own operational standards with those of local partners, Wang said. This tension between national concerns and global cooperation is not lost on Beijing, which has increasingly framed AI as a shared endeavour rather than a zero-sum race. 'AI must move toward inclusivity and shared benefit. It should become a public good for the benefit of all humanity,' said Chinese Premier Li Qiang as he opened the World AI Conference in Shanghai on Jul 26. He said if the world instead pursues 'technological monopolies, imposes controls, and erects barriers, AI will inevitably become a game exclusive to a privileged few'. Open AI ecosystems encourage diversity and multi-party engagement, providing an 'equal playground' for all, rather than central dominance, noted Jia from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He further suggested that the effectiveness of these collaborative models will help determine whether Southeast Asia becomes primarily a proving ground or a true shaper of the next generation of Chinese AI models. 'If it's a public good, there is no leader - only stakeholders,' Jia said, describing the future of AI as a shared, multilateral enterprise rather than a contest for supremacy. Executives at Chinese tech firms acknowledge these sensitivities, saying they are working to build trust by focusing on long-term partnerships, transparency, and shared success. Wu from Tencent Cloud said that its partners help tailor workflows, knowledge management and deployment to specific industries. 'Although our product is robust, each customer's needs vary,' he said. 'Once deployed, the IP and knowledge stay with the client, which helps build trust and long-term value.' Choong from Alibaba Cloud Intelligence said the company operates on openness and trust. He cited Qwen3 - its most advanced open-source AI coding model to date - as an example, noting that by making it publicly available, Alibaba Cloud aims to foster a 'global community of innovation'. 'We believe that openness can in return democratise AI development, drive more AI innovation across businesses and society at large, and ultimately, benefit consumers with new and exciting AI applications.' Shi from SenseTime said the company's 'consistent' strategy is centred on helping partners succeed. 'We know the challenges and we also know the rewards of early AI adoption, so we share those with our partners, and we do want to share with more partners in Southeast Asia,' he said. 'I think customers are very happy with the fact that we are trying very hard to meet international norms - not (being) just a Chinese-Chinese company, but a company that is trying really to be international.'
CNA
17 hours ago
- CNA
NDP 2025: What you should know about crowd levels, security checks and traffic delays
SINGAPORE: Be prepared for large crowds and traffic delays around the Marina Bay area on Saturday (Aug 9) when the National Day Parade is held to mark Singapore's 60th year of independence. NDP 2025 will take place at the Padang, with celebrations extending to the Marina Bay area. 'To prevent overcrowding, police officers, Singapore Armed Forces personnel and auxiliary police officers will be regulating the flow of crowds at areas in Marina Bay,' the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said in a media release. These include the Esplanade Waterfront, Jubilee Bridge, Merlion Park, One Fullerton Waterfront, Marina Boulevard Promenade, Marina Bay Sands Waterfront and Helix Bridge. Those intending to visit Marina Bay are advised to check the Crowd@MarinaBay map to view real-time crowd levels, as well as areas which may be closed due to the crowd build-up. The crowd map will go live from 5pm to 10.30pm on Aug 9. 'Members of the public can also utilise the OneMap application on their mobile phones for recommended walking routes to help navigate and avoid closure areas on Aug 9, 2025, from 7pm to 10.30pm,' said SPF. MRT STATIONS' ENTRANCE OR EXIT CLOSURES Certain entrances or exits of MRT stations around Marina Bay will be closed to regulate crowd flow, the police said. Trains may also skip affected stations if overcrowding occurs. Some MRT stations, including Bayfront, City Hall, Esplanade and Raffles Place, are expected to be very crowded. 'Members of the public are encouraged to use other nearby MRT stations such as Promenade, Downtown and Marina Bay MRT stations,' said the police. 'With large crowds expected around the Marina Bay, the public is advised to be vigilant and to safeguard their belongings.' SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS AT NDP People attending the parade must enter via the entrance assigned in their ticketing instructions. They are advised to arrive early to allow enough time for security checks, and minimise the number of items they bring into the venue to facilitate checks. Containers with a capacity of 100ml or larger that contain liquid, aerosol or gel will be subjected to additional checks. The police said action may be taken against anyone who attempts to bring in prohibited items, which include firearms, tear gas sprays and any sharp objects that can be used as a weapon. Canned items, including canned drinks, are also not allowed in the venue. ROAD CLOSURES Several roads will be fully or partially closed at certain points between Aug 9 and 10 due to the parade. These include parts of Fullerton Road and Beach Road, as well as the carriageway of Nicoll Highway in the direction of Guillemard Road. During the closures, access will only be granted to authorised vehicles, as well as police and emergency vehicles. 'Police officers, auxiliary police officers, security officers and SAF marshals will be deployed at the affected junctions to assist and direct motorists,' said the police. It also warned that traffic delays are expected along: Battery Road Beach Road Bras Basah Road Collyer Quay Guillemard Road Hill Street Marina Boulevard Mountbatten Road North Bridge Road Ophir Road Raffles Avenue Raffles Boulevard Raffles Link Republic Boulevard Rochor Road Temasek Avenue Temasek Boulevard Victoria Street 'Motorists are advised to plan their routes early and avoid these roads,' said SPF. 'Members of the public travelling to these affected areas are strongly encouraged to use public transport.' The police added that drivers headed to Suntec City and Marina Square from Bras Basah Road, Esplanade Drive, Nicoll Highway or Raffles Boulevard need to use alternate routes via Bayfront Avenue or Rochor Road leading to Temasek Boulevard. 'Parking restrictions along the affected roads will be strictly enforced. Vehicles found parked illegally or causing obstruction will be towed,' said SPF. SPF also reminded the public that the area around the Padang is a 'Special Event Area', where unmanned aircraft - including drones - are prohibited. Two cases of unauthorised drone flying were detected on Aug 2 during one of the NDP previews. The drones were seized, and their operators will be investigated, said SPF.
