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Apple Pay takes on China’s internet kings in mobile payments
In an early boost, China’s biggest lender, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC), was among the banks that said earlier this week that customers would be able to use Apple Pay from Thursday.
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- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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MediaTek partners with Google to reach into emerging markets
Mediatek, the world's second largest mobile chip maker, has teamed up with U.S. tech group Google to offer cheaper, faster smartphones in emerging markets as early as next year amid sluggish demand from mainland China.
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- Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Shanghai subway to use Alibaba voice and facial recognition systems in AI push
The subway system in the Chinese city of Shanghai will bring in voice and facial recognition technologies developed by e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding as it looks to make life easier for the millions of commuters on one of the longest and busiest mass-transit railway networks on the planet.
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- Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Alibaba launches US$1.5 billion fund to help fight poverty in China
At a conference attended by the company’s 36 partners at its headquarters in Hangzhou, executive chairman Jack Ma announced it would set up the Alibaba Poverty Relief Fund, with the money to be donated over the next five years.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Uber signs partnership with Vietnam’s leading e-wallet firm
The partnership is Uber's first deal with a fin-tech company in Southeast Asia. It aims to catch up with regional rival Grab, which has its own e-wallet service.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- fintech
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China Online Finance Regulator Tells Unqualified Micro-Lenders to Stop Lending
"Some institutions are not qualified to issue loans but have used false promotion to attract clients, conduct violent debt collection, and charge extremely high interest rates and fees, causing financial risks and social problems in some regions," it said in the letter released on its website.
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- regulations
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As malaria resists treatment, experts warn of a global crisis
Much of the region’s success in battling what was once a leading cause of death can be attributed to two-drug combination pills containing artemisinin, an inexpensive and effective drug invented in China decades ago.
But a new, drug-resistant strain of the disease, impervious to artemisinin and another popular drug with which it is frequently paired, piperaquine, threatens to upend years of worldwide eradication efforts — straining health care systems and raising the prospect that the death toll could increase again.- Region
- Asia Pacific
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China Citic, Baidu launch direct bank in fintech push
China Citic Bank Corp and search engine giant Baidu Inc launched on Saturday a direct banking joint venture, dubbed AiBank, to capitalize on China’s rapidly growing fintech sector.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech