China-ASEAN Monitor: Tech investments into Indonesia jumped 55% year on year in first half of 2020 as Chinese investors shift away from India

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TRADE, ECONOMY, AND INVESTMENT

 

Tech investments into Indonesia jumped 55% year on year in first half of 2020 as Chinese investors shift away from India
(29 November 2020) Chinese venture capitalists are shifting their focus away from India towards Indonesia, after the former began targeting opportunistic Chinese takeovers and banning Chinese apps. According to a recent report by Google and Temasek, investments into Indonesia’s tech sector in the first half of 2020 jumped 55% from the same period in 2019, totalling US$2.8 billion. Among the Chinese venture capital investors shifting their focus to Indonesia included Shunwei Capital and BAce Capital. However, one Chinese capitalist warned that many Indonesian tech companies are already fully valued, and that ‘there is too much capital chasing too few quality start-ups’.
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Huawei signs agreement with Indonesia to develop digital talents and for technological cooperation
(2 December 2020) Chinese telecommunications company Huawei Technologies recently entered into an agreement with Indonesia to develop local digital talent, including in 5G technology and related fields. Huawei will assist in training 100,000 people in digital technologies such as cloud and 5G sectors. Huawei will also collaborate with an Indonesian government agency that is pushing the forward development of artificial intelligence and 5G. The company will also provide technical cooperation to Indonesian telecom company Indosat Ooredoo in the installation of 5G infrastructure in the Jakarta capital region and other areas. These investments into Indonesia comes as Huawei’s activities in Europe and other Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and Vietnam are being curtailed.
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JPMorgan planning on doubling number of private bankers in Singapore to serve wealthy Chinese clients
(30 November 2020) New York-based bank JPMorgan Chase & Co plans to double the number of private bankers serving Chinese clients at its Singapore office. The number of millionaires in China grew by 11% to 1.3 million in 2019, and many wealthy Chinese nationals seek to park their funds, buy property, and set up family offices in Singapore due to the latter’s clear and investor-friendly regulations. The China team is the latest addition to JPMorgan’s team in Singapore, which has traditionally focused more on local clients and those in Indonesia. Many major Chinese firms such as Tencent Holdings Ltd., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., and ByteDance Ltd are setting up offices in Singapore, which thus brings in lots of senior people with concentrated wealth holdings seeking ways to build upon it.
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Chinese smartphone giants currently occupy nearly 66% of Myanmar’s mobile market
(30 November 2020) Chinese smartphone giants including Xiaomi, Huawei, and Oppo currently occupy nearly 66% of Myanmar’s mobile market. Myanmar is a fast growing market, with internet penetration only reaching 41% as of January 2020. As well, Myanmar’s GDP per capita is expected to rise by more than 55% by 2022. Chinese companies such as Xiaomi, Huawei and Oppo benefit from the fact that Myanmar consumers are generally price sensitive, which gives Chinese companies an edge over other brands such as Apple and Samsung. Although Huawei was the top-selling brand in Myanmar until early 2016, as of October 2020 Xiaomi has a leading market share of over 31%. The reason for Huawei’s decline in market share was attributed to the company’s strategic positioning as a premium brand. Myanmar telecommunications companies are currently focused on improving 4G connectivity.
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Chinese market absorbed some 39.09% of Cambodia’s total milled-rice exports in the first 11 months of 2020
(2 December 2020) The Chinese market absorbed some 39.09% of Cambodia’s total milled-rice exports in the first 11 months of 2020. Cambodia exported a total of 601,045 tonnes of milled rice to international markets in the period January-November 2020, up 16.9% from the same period in 2019. Other markets such as the EU, ASEAN, and other destinations accounted for 31.35%, 13.01% and 16.55% respectively of total milled-rice exports for the same period. The significant opportunities of the Chinese market often meant leaders from the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) frequently attended events in China to promote Cambodian rice produce.
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