Young consumers in Southeast Asia prefer budget phones over Apple's iPhones and Samsung's high-end handsets: survey

South China Morning Post
Mon, August 21, 2023 

An overwhelming majority of young consumers in Southeast Asia are more attracted to mid-range or budget phones than higher-end models from established brands like Samsung Electronics and Apple, according to a new survey.

The survey, conducted by British market research firm YouGov and sponsored by Xiaomi-backed smartphone brand Poco, covered 2,500 Gen Z and millennial consumers - defined as those aged between 18 and 40 - in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

More than three-quarters of respondents agreed that they prefer "mid-range" phones, including 37 per cent who "strongly" agreed with that preference.

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Almost eight out of every 10 respondents said they are more confident in mid-range mobile phones than five years ago, because those devices are affordable and budget friendly, strike a good balance between price and performance, and fulfil user needs without excessive features.

People with their smartphones in Jakarta, Indonesia. 

Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images

Poco, which was spun off from Beijing-based Xiaomi in 2020, is trying to win young smartphone users in Southeast Asia with its pitch for good price-to-value handsets, such as its newly released Poco M3 Pro 5G, which sells in Indonesia at a starting price of 2,399,000 rupiah (US$156.5).

The device comes with 5G connectivity and a dual-SIM slot. It is marketed for its adaptable screen refresh rate, which adjusts depending on the content shown, helping users conserve battery.

"When it comes to the rise of gaming in Southeast Asia, or even around the world, we want to put more focus on the roots, the basics, and perfecting the mid-range market, where we can find the perfect balance between price value and product," said Angus Ng, product marketing head at Poco Global.

The YouGov survey found that young consumers in Southeast Asia mainly use their handsets for entertainment, with 80 per cent of respondents saying they bought their phones to watch videos and 60 per cent saying they play mobile games on their devices.

More than half of the respondents shop online at least several times a week.

In general, Gen Z spend more time on their mobile phones than their older millennial counterparts, according to the survey. For instance, Gen Z respondents on average spend 10 hours a week on social media, compared with 7.7 hours for millennials.

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the use of mobile phones for entertainment, which has raised consumers' expectations on the technical performance of their devices, according to Jenny Armshaw-Heak, director at YouGov.

"We're seeing a focus on utility and storage capacity, performance, speed and features, which will enhance [the user] experience across the board, and particularly in relation to gaming, which we all know [users] love and enjoy on an almost daily basis," she said.

People use smartphones to take pictures and video at a park in Manila, Philippines. 

Photo: EPA-EFE 

The Southeast Asian smartphone market is currently led by Samsung, which had a 27 per cent share in the first quarter of 2023, followed by Chinese brands Oppo, Xiaomi, Vivo and Realme, according to statistics from research firm Canalys.

While smartphone shipments to the region fell 21 per cent from a year ago during that quarter, analysts expect the numbers to rise 7 per cent next year, driven by a rebound in demand.

"2024 is expected to spin a different story," said Sheng Win Chow, analyst at Canalys. "Looking ahead, Southeast Asia continues to be a promising market for smartphone manufacturers, thanks to its expanding middle class and young population, which are key customer segments for smartphone vendors."

However, budget brands also face growing competition from vendors of premium handsets.

"The rise in digital payments and financing options in the region makes high-end devices more affordable for the masses," said Chow.

Shipments of Apple's iPhones rose 18 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter, while Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi all saw their shipments drop, according to a separate report by research firm Counterpoint.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

 

New program takes us one step closer to autonomous robots

by Peter Grad , Tech Xplore

Feasibility verification for push door with recoil behaviors.

 Credit: Science Robotics (2023). DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.adg5014

We've watched the remarkable evolution of robotics over the past decade with models that can walk, talk and make gestures like humans, undertake tasks from moving heavy machinery to delicately manipulating tiny objects, and maintain balance on two or four legs over rough and hostile terrain.

As impressive as the latest robots are, their accomplishments are largely the result of task-specific programming or remote instruction from humans.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a program that helps robots tackle activities that do not rely on "prerecorded expert demonstrations," as the developers put it, or "densely engineered rewards."

Instead, they designed an approach in which the robot can "rapidly discover a feasible and near optimal multi-modal sequence that solves the task." In other words, they provide an environment in which robots can achieve objectives with minimal guidance from human operators.

The research was reported in the Aug. 16 edition of Science Robotics. The paper, "Versatile multicontact planning and control for legged loco-manipulation," was prepared by Jean-Pierre Sleiman, Farbod Farshidian and Marco Hunter of the Robotic Systems Lab at the public research university ETH Zurich.

"Given high-level descriptions of the robot and object, along with a task specification encoded through a sparse objective," Sleiman said, "our planner holistically discovers how the robot should move, what forces it should exert, what limbs it should use, as well as when and where it should establish or break contact with the object."

Credit: Science Robotics (2023). DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.adg5014

Demonstration videos show ANYbotics' quadrupedal ANYmal mastering the opening of a dishwasher door and deftly opening a weighted door and keeping it open with a leg while maneuvering through.

"The framework can be readily adapted to different kinds of mobile manipulators," Sleiman said.

The last several years have seen great strides in robotic development. Boston Dynamics, a leading player in the field of robotics, created Atlas in 2013. With stereo vision and fine motor abilities, it could maintain balance in a hostile environment. It eventually was improved to get in and out of vehicles, open doors and handle power equipment. Agility Robotics' Cassie in 2016 exhibited superior walking and running capacity.

In 2017, a lifelike Sophia that smoothly mimicked human gestures and behavior was dispatched to assist the elderly in nursing facilities and play with children. And highly advanced tactile manipulation was demonstrated in 2019 with OpenAI's Dactyl: After training sessions that its developers estimated would take humans 13,000 years to complete, the single-handed Dactyl could easily manipulate a Rubik's cube and solve the 3D combination puzzle, which has stymied millions of users since its release in 1974, in just four minutes.

Planning and control architecture for multicontact loco-manipulation. 

Credit: Science Robotics (2023). DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.adg5014

More recently, the last few years have seen Boston Dynamics' four-legged Spot, which can walk three miles, climb hills, conquer obstacles and perform specialized tasks. And Ameca, considered one of the most—if not the most—lifelike robot, engages in smooth conversation and generates facial expressions and hand gestures that are remarkably humanlike.

ETH Zurich, which would take the grand accomplishments of its predecessors and eliminate—or at least greatly reduce—the need for humans to control robots behind the scenes, has taken a key step in the next stage of robot development.

More information: Jean-Pierre Sleiman et al, Versatile multicontact planning and control for legged loco-manipulation, Science Robotics (2023). DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.adg5014

Journal information: Science Robotics 

© 2023 Science X NetworkResearchers expand ability of robots to learn from videos

Lifelike robots and android dogs wow visitors at Beijing robotics fair

A human-like robot performs near robots of faces that mimic human expressions during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. 

Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

Winking, grimacing or nodding their heads, robots mimicked the expressions of visitors at a robot expo in Beijing.

They were among the creations dazzling people attending the annual World Robot Conference, where companies showed off robots designed for a wide range of uses, including manufacturing, surgery and companionship.

The animatronic heads and humanoid robots on display at the EX Robots booth this week personified the image of what robots are supposed to be in the popular imagination, with synthetic skin and lifelike facial expressions complimented by moving arms and hands.

CEO Li Boyang said they're ideal for roles that require interacting with the public, such as in museums, tourist attractions, school settings and "companion scenarios."

Doggie droids—a mainstay of high tech fairs—were out in force. Canine robots shook hands with fairgoers and performed handstands on their front paws.

Elsewhere at the fair, robotic arms served Chinese tea, prepared ice cream cones, bounced ping pong balls and gave visitors back massages.

Harvesting robots demonstrated how they could pick apples off the branch, while an artist robot drew portraits of visitors.

Industrial robot arms for factory production lines also grabbed focus. One of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's goals is to move the country's vast manufacturing sector away from low-cost creation of cheap goods into more high-tech production, and industrial robots will be an important element of that plan.

Human like robots and robotic faces that mimic human expressions are displayed at the annual World Robot Conference at the Beijing Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center in Beijing, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

A worker charges robots displayed at the annual World Robot Conference at the Beijing Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center in Beijing, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

Visitors watch human-like robots and robotic faces that mimic human expressions during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

A man looks at the industrial robotic arms from Yaskawa Shougang Robot Co. Ltd on display at the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

Visitors watch a robotic arm playing a table tennis ball during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

An exhibitor watches a visitor receiving a massage by a robotic arm during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

Visitors look at the remote control robots perform during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

A visitor touches robotic fingers during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

Visitors look at robots perform on stage during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

A robot face capable of mimicking human like expressions is displayed near robotic arms at the annual World Robot Conference at the Beijing Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center in Beijing, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

An exhibitor teaches a visitor to control a robotic arm during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

Visitors look at a robotic arm performs a Chinese tea serving during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

A woman poses in front of a six arm robot at the annual World Robot Conference at the Beijing Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center in Beijing, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

Visitors look at robot palms during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

Children gather to watch a robotic arm perform ice cream serving during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

Visitors look at remotely controled robots perform a jump during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

A device for scanning the human brain to help diagnose mental afflictions is displayed at the annual World Robot Conference at the Beijing Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center in Beijing, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

An exhibitor walks with his robot passing by visitors during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

Visitors look at a remote control robot perform a walk during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

Robotic arms perform near a robotic face capable of mimicking human-like expressions during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

A human like cyborg and an image of a robot dog is displayed at the Xiaomi booth at the annual World Robot Conference at the Beijing Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center in Beijing, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

A robot receptionist with a screen showing Chinese President Xi Jinping is displayed at the annual World Robot Conference at the Beijing Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

Visitors look at an exhibitor showcasing a walking robot during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

Visitors look at a robotic arm performs a Chinese tea serving during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

Visitors take a close look at an artificial heart during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

Children watch a 2-wheel robot perform at the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

An exhibitor walks with his robot passing by visitors during the annual World Robot Conference at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

A panda shaped robot is prepared for a demonstration at the annual World Robot Conference at the Beijing Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center in Beijing, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

A man tests a device that uses brain activities and virtual reality to control other machines at the annual World Robot Conference at the Beijing Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

Workers sit near images of robotic arms from Estun a Chinese manufacturer of industrial robots at the annual World Robot Conference at the Beijing Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

A woman pushes robots around at the annual World Robot Conference at the Beijing Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

A worker stands next to apples harvesting robot displayed at the annual World Robot Conference held at the Beijing Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

Visitors record a robot that can draw portraits for them at the annual World Robot Conference at the Beijing Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

A man prepares to demonstrate a robot capable of walking on two limbs at the annual World Robot Conference at the Beijing Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

An artificial heart is displayed at the annual World Robot Conference at the Beijing Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

Workers demonstrate a giant robot at the annual World Robot Conference at the Beijing Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

© 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Can India Inc extricate itself from China?

The Economist
Mon, August 14, 2023 

CHINA AND India are not on the friendliest of terms. In 2020 their soldiers clashed along their disputed border in the deadliest confrontation between the two since 1967—then clashed again in 2021 and 2022. That has made trade between the Asian giants a tense affair. Tense but, especially for India, still indispensable. Indian consumers rely on cheap Chinese goods, and Indian companies rely on cheap Chinese inputs, particularly in industries of the future. Whereas India sells China the products of the old economy—crustaceans, cotton, granite, diamonds, petrol—China sends India memory chips, integrated circuits and pharmaceutical ingredients. As a result, trade is becoming ever more lopsided. Of the $117bn in goods that flowed between the two countries in 2022, 87% came from China (see chart).

India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, wants to reduce this Sino-dependence. One reason is strategic—relying on a mercurial adversary for critical imports carries risks. Another is commercial—Mr Modi is trying to replicate China’s nationalistic, export-oriented growth model, which means seizing some business from China. In recent months his government’s efforts to decouple parts of the Indian economy from its larger neighbour’s have intensified. On August 3rd India announced new licensing restrictions for imported laptops and personal computers—devices that come primarily from China. A week later it was reported that similar measures were being considered for cameras and printers.

Officially, India is open to Chinese business, as long as this conforms with Indian laws. In practice, India’s government uses a number of tools to make Chinese firms’ life in India difficult or impossible. The bluntest of these is outright prohibitions on Chinese products, often on grounds related to national security. In the aftermath of the border hostilities in 2020, for example, the government banned 118 Chinese apps, including TikTok (a short-video sensation), WeChat (a super-app), Shein (a fast-fashion retailer) and just about any other service that captured data about Indian users. Hundreds more apps were banned for similar reasons throughout 2022 and this year. Makers of telecoms gear, such as Huawei and ZTE, have received the same treatment, out of fear that their hardware could let Chinese spooks eavesdrop on Indian citizens.

Tariffs are another popular tactic. In 2018, in an effort to reverse the demise of Indian mobile-phone assembly at the hands of Chinese rivals, the government imposed a 20% levy on imported devices. In 2020 it tripled tariffs on toy imports, most of which come from China, to 60% then, at the start of this year, raised them to 70%. India’s toy imports have since declined by three-quarters.

Sometimes the Indian government eschews official actions such as bans and tariffs in favour of more subtle ones. A common tactic is to introduce bureaucratic friction. India’s red tape makes it easy for officials to find fault with disfavoured businesses. Non-compliance with tax rules, so impenetrable that it is almost impossible to abide by them all, are a favourite accusation. Two smartphone makers, Xiaomi and BBK Electronics (which owns three popular brands, Oppo/OnePlus, Realme and Vivo), are under investigation for allegedly shortchanging the Indian taxman a combined $1.1bn. On August 2nd news outlets cited anonymous government officials saying that the Indian arm of BYD, a Chinese carmaker, was under investigation over allegations that it paid $9m less than it owed in tariffs for parts imported from abroad. MG Motor, a subsidiary of SAIC, another Chinese car firm, faces investment restrictions and a tax probe.

A convoluted licensing regime gives Indian authorities more ways to stymie Chinese business. In April 2020 India declared that investments from countries sharing a border with it must receive special approvals. No specific neighbour was named but the target was clearly China. Since then India has approved less than a quarter of the 435 applications for foreign direct investment from the country. According to Business Today, a local outlet, only three received the thumbs-up in India’s last fiscal year, which ended in March. Last month reports surfaced that a proposed joint venture between BYD and Megha Engineering, an Indian industrial firm, to build electric vehicles and batteries failed to win approval over security reasons.

Luxshare, a big Chinese manufacturer of devices for, among others, Apple, has yet to open a factory in Tamil Nadu, despite signing an agreement with the state in 2021. The reason for the delay is believed to be an unspoken blanket ban from the central government in Delhi on new facilities owned by Chinese companies. In early August the often slow-moving Indian parliament whisked through a new law easing the approval process for new lithium mines after a potentially large deposit of the metal, used in batteries, was unearthed earlier this year. Miners are welcome to submit applications, but Chinese bidders are expected to be viewed unfavourably.

In parallel to its blocking efforts, India is using policy to dislodge China as a leader in various markets. India’s $33bn programme of “production-linked incentives” (cash payments tied to sales, investment and output) has identified 14 areas of interest, many of which are currently dominated by Chinese companies.

One example is pharmaceutical ingredients, which Indian drugmakers have for years mostly procured from China. In February the Indian government started doling out handouts worth $2bn over six years to companies that agree to manufacture 41 of these substances domestically. Big pharmaceutical firms such as Aurobindo, Biocon, Dr Reddy’s and Strides are participating. Another is electronics. Contract manufacturers of Apple’s iPhones, such as Foxconn and Pegatron of Taiwan and Tata, an Indian conglomerate, are allowed to purchase Chinese-made components for assembly in India provided they make efforts to nurture local suppliers, too. A similar arrangement has apparently been offered to Tesla, which is looking for new locations to make its electric cars.

Some Chinese firms, tired of jumping through all these hoops, are calling it quits. In July 2022, after two years of efforts that included a promise to invest $1bn in India, Great Wall Motors closed its Indian carmaking operation, unable to secure local approvals. Others are trying to adapt. Xiaomi has said it will localise all its production and expand exports from India which, so far, go only to neighbouring countries, to Western markets. Shein will re-enter the Indian market through a joint venture with Reliance, India’s most valuable listed company, renowned for its ability to navigate Indian bureaucracy and politics. ZTE is reportedly attempting to arrange a licensing deal with a domestic manufacturer to make its networking equipment. So far it has found no takers. Given India’s growing suspicions of China, it may be a while before it does.

© 2023 The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved.

From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on https://www.economist.com/business/2023/08/14/can-india-inc-extricate-itself-from-china

World's first mass-produced humanoid robot? China start-up Fourier Intelligence eyes two-legged robots with AI brains

South China Morning Post
Sun, August 13, 2023 at 3:30 AM MDT·6 min read


When Fourier Intelligence unveiled its lanky, jet-black humanoid robot GR-1 at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai in July, it instantly stole the show.

While the global technology community has been fixated on artificial intelligence (AI) software since the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT in November, the Chinese-made GR-1 - said to be capable of walking on two legs at a speed of 5km an hour while carrying a 50kg load - reminded people of the potential of bipedal robots, which are being pursued by global companies from Tesla to Xiaomi.

For Fourier, a Shanghai-based start-up, GR-1 was an unlikely triumph.

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"It is an unprecedented attempt by us - we barely had any reference when it came to the technology," Alex Gu, founder and chief executive of Fourier, said in a recent interview with the South China Morning Post in the Chinese financial capital.

Fourier's focus has not always been on humanoid robots. Named after the 19th-century French mathematician and physicist Joseph Fourier, the company was originally set up in 2015 in Shanghai's tech hub Zhangjiang with the aim of developing rehabilitation robotics.

The firm's current products include a smart exercise bike, a wireless robotic glove and a series of computer-guided contraptions that help users restore movement in their arms and legs.

But just like many of his peers, 42-year-old Gu, a mechanical engineering graduate from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, had long dreamed about creating his own humanoid robot.

So in 2019, after Fourier brought its intelligent rehabilitation devices into hundreds of hospitals and medical care centres in over 10 countries and established itself in the industry, Gu decided it was time to kick off a new venture.

Back then, few companies in the world had successfully launched a humanoid robot due to the high technological barrier and development costs. In the US, there were a handful of projects including Atlas by Boston Dynamics, the company known for its robot dog Spot, and Digit by Agility Robotics.

In China, most firms chose to dedicate their efforts on lightweight products like four-legged robots. Gu thought he could do better.

"Many technologies used in rehabilitation robots are essentially applicable to humanoid robots," Gu said. "Humanoid robots require very good motors that are both powerful and light, and we are able to develop them ourselves."

Alex Gu, founder and chief executive of Fourier Intelligence

GR-1 was born in a small laboratory on the first floor of the Fourier headquarters, where a group of engineers were busy refining and testing the robot when this reporter visited last month. The team reached a major breakthrough in 2022 - three years after the start of the project - when it managed to make the 1.65-metre tall robot rise up on both legs and walk.

"When we saw it standing up for the first time, untethered and walking around by itself, it was a big encouragement for all our engineers," said Gu. "It felt like raising a newborn baby."

Fourier later published an online video of the walking GR-1, drawing compliments from many viewers, but also plenty of scepticism.

"Some overseas viewers said the video was computer-generated," said Gu. "I understand that the field is still at an early stage and that people will have different opinions, just like some had argued 20 years ago whether electric vehicles would be able to travel on roads."

In addition to technical challenges, researchers and robotics experts have cautioned that companies still face massive difficulties in commercialising humanoid robots in the broader consumer market.

"[Humanoid robots] mostly live in the labs now and are extremely expensive," said Zhang Xiaorong, director of Chinese research institute Shendu Technology. "A relatively high-quality machine can cost millions of yuan."

Those problems have not stopped companies from trying.

Lei Jun, founder of Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi, in August 2022 showed off on stage the company's first humanoid robot CyberOne, which was seen to be capable of walking, but not much else.

Less than two months later, Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla, unveiled a prototype of its highly anticipated Optimus robot during the company's AI Day. It walked and danced live on stage. The audience was also shown a video of the robot doing tasks like carrying a box and moving metal bars.

Musk said at the WAIC conference last month that Optimus was not intended to "have great intelligence", but to help humans with "boring, repetitive or dangerous tasks".

Gu said he shared similar visions with Musk, but added that robots "can also become very good friends of humans by providing emotional value".

While current humanoid robots still have "large gaps with humans in both movement and cognitive ability", the development of large language models (LLM) - the type of software that underpins AI chatbots like ChatGPT - could be "epoch-changing", Gu said.

"LLMs will give robots the ability of logical reasoning, making them much more human-like," Gu said.

A Fourier Intelligence engineer tests the self-balancing ability of the company's humanoid robot.

While Gu emphasised that Fourier will focus on developing the hardware that makes up the "body" of the robots and leave AI developers to work on the "brain", Fourier co-founder and chief strategy officer Zen Koh said a few AI companies had already reached out for potential collaboration in LLMs.

"We're hoping to work with all the major ones and ... as a system, be open," Koh said.

The GR-1 robot has already been delivered in small quantities to some universities and AI companies for research and development, according to Gu. He plans to begin mass production by year-end and deliver thousands of units in 2024.

Musk last year also claimed that production could start in 2023.

Gu expects Fourier's humanoid robots, which he said have great potential in various scenarios including elderly care, education and guest reception, to generate more revenue than its rehabilitation robots in the next three to five years.

Still, there is a long way to go before humanoid robots become a part of our daily lives, he said.

"Don't expect a miracle to come out in a year or so - even for Tesla, we have to give them time [to achieve mass production of humanoid robots]," said Gu.

"But also, don't underestimate the possibility that this thing may become part of people's family lives in five or 10 years."

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Google must pay $162 million as a penalty in an Indian antitrust case

Google must pay up in 30 days, but it can also appeal to the Supreme Court

By Niharika Sharma
Published 4 hours ago







Image: Clay Mclachlan (Reuters)

An Indian tribunal has upheld a $162 million fine imposed on Google by the country’s fair trade regulator for abusing its Android dominance to promote its payment service.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) yesterday (March 29) rejected Google’s plea that the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) probe into a 2018 complaint from Android users had violated natural justice.

In October 2022, CCI fined the US company, ordering a halt on its various unfair business practices.

Googled appealed against the fine with NCLAT in January this year.

It defended itself saying “we believe it (the CCI decision) presents a major setback for our Indian users and businesses who trust Android’s security features, and potentially raising the cost of mobile devices.”

NCLAT has, however, upheld CCI’s decision now and directed Google to deposit the penalty amount in 30 days. The tech behemoth can still appeal against the ruling to the Supreme Court of India.

Why Alphabet’s Google is in trouble in India?

The penalty was a result of a long-drawn investigation by CCI. The probe concluded that Indian Android developers find it difficult to place their apps on smartphones.

Google licenses its Android operating system to smartphone producers at a relatively low cost. In India, all major smartphone companies, including Samsung or Xiaomi, use Android. Around 95% of the 750 million smartphones used in the country are based on this operating system.

Prominent apps, therefore, come pre-installed with Android devices and these can’t be uninstalled. Some app developers claimed that Google’s policies had driven them out of business.

CCI found, therefore, that the US giant’s practice undermines fair competition and stifles innovation.

Tech war: China doubles down on 'whole nation' approach to chip self-sufficiency as US tightens export controls


Fri, March 3, 2023

China must maintain a "whole nation" approach to its semiconductor industry by leveraging both state and market power for growth, Vice-Premier Liu He told industry executives on Thursday, in a sign that Beijing is digging in for a protracted chip war with the US.

Liu, known as the top economic aide to President Xi Jinping, said at a symposium that the semiconductor industry was "the core nexus of modern industrial systems" and mattered to "national security and the progress of Chinese style modernisation", according to a report by the official Xinhua news agency.

"General Secretary Xi Jinping has attached high importance to the development of the integrated circuit industry, and he has repeatedly made written and verbal instructions on the matter," Liu told delegates at the gathering in Beijing.

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Liu added that the Chinese government would set "practical development goals" for the industry and help businesses solve their difficulties. In areas where there are market failures, the state would play a role by guiding long-term investment. In particular, Liu stressed that China would provide "equal national treatment" to foreign experts under a policy designed to ease China's chip talent shortage. By 2024, China's semiconductor industry will need nearly 800,000 workers, exceeding the local talent supply by one third.

The Xinhua summary of Liu's speech did not mention US export controls directly, but the comments come as Beijing is expressing growing concerns about a US-led coalition it believes is aimed at containing China's development in chip technologies.

Chinese government officials have publicly called on Japan, South Korea and the Netherlands to help maintain the stability of supply chains after Washington made progress in convincing Tokyo and The Hague to join its export control regime. A US-led Chip4 alliance involving Japan, South Korea and Taiwan is also coming into shape, while Washington has reiterated that chip makers receiving US government funding are barred from investing in advanced facilities in China for a decade.

Meanwhile, the US has for the first time moved to restrict American semiconductor talent from helping China achieve its goals. In October last year, the Biden administration restricted "US persons" - including American citizens and green card holders - from working at China-located facilities related to advanced chips.

Due to its curtailed access to advanced semiconductors for smartphones - as well as the equipment and materials needed to make them - Chinese companies have instead invested heavily in mature-node chips for applications in cars and home appliances.

Liu said China has already developed "a relatively complete semiconductor supply chain" with "very strong capabilities at home in some segments". "In particular, China has a large chip consumption market ... this is the most precious resource for China and a strategic advantage to promote the semiconductor industry," Liu was quoted by Xinhua as saying.

Local Chinese governments, from Shenzhen to Shanghai, are offering incentives to develop semiconductor projects. The city of Suzhou, near Shanghai, is targeting a 20 per cent increase in the output of its semiconductor industry this year.

China's top memory chip maker Yangtze Memory Technologies Co, which was added to a US trade blacklist last year, has received a US$7 billion capital boost from state-backed investors, including the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, or Big Fund, which was hit by a series of corruption scandals last year.

Separately, Chinese private investors are also betting on chips. Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi announced on Thursday a new fund of 10 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion), along with other partners, to invest in "integrated circuits, and the related upstream and downstream fields".
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Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Are dual-class shares good, bad, or a necessary evil?

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SINGAPORE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: AS DUAL-CLASS SHARE LISTINGS MAKE THEIR WAY INTO ASIA IN HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE, SMU ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR LIANG HAO’S LATEST RESEARCH POINTS TO THE IMPORTANCE OF SUNSET CLAUSES. view more 

CREDIT: SINGAPORE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY

By Alvin Lee

SMU Office of Research & Tech Transfer – When Chinese consumer electronics giant Xiaomi (小米) listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (SEHK) in June 2018, it followed the well-beaten path travelled by earlier mainland companies, ranging from high-tech predecessors Tencent (腾讯, 0700.HK) to non-tech companies such as Tsingtao Brewery (0168.HK) and China Eastern Airlines (0670.HK).

While the IPO raised US$4.72 billion in the tech world’s biggest float in four years, it garnered extra attention for being the first SEHK listing with dual-class shares (DCS). Co-founders Lei Jun (89.27 percent) and Lin Bin (10.73 percent) controlled the Class A shares, with each of such shares carrying 10 votes instead of a single vote for Class B shares. The move to allow DCS structures, also known as weighted voting rights (WVR), prompted SEHK’s regional rivals Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) to follow suit, breaking its heretofore adherence to the one-share-one-vote (OSOV) principle.

The justification for changing a long-held cornerstone of corporate governance was a business one. Charles Li, then Chief Executive of SEHK’s operator, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), had said six months before the Xiaomi listing, “The market has made it clear they want the Exchange to take action to broaden Hong Kong’s capital markets access and enhance its competitiveness.”

“Hong Kong wanted this reform [because] so-called high-tech unicorns like Alibaba and its spinoff Ant Group wanted to list [on the SEHK], and their founders have this strong preference of holding dual-class shares,” explains Liang Hao, Associate Professor of Finance at the SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business. “They couldn't be listed in Hong Kong nor Singapore because it was simply not allowed. And all of them went to the New York Stock Exchange, which allowed it.

“Hong Kong said, ‘Okay, we are losing all these deals. Let's make the change to attract more big unicorns from the mainland.’ Given the fierce competition between Singapore and Hong Kong, Singapore immediately followed suit.”

He adds: “It's not clear whether this reactive reform was actually good or bad. If you think about dual-class shares giving more power to the company’s founder, should the founder turn out to be a dishonest person or want to exploit other shareholders, then dual-class shares are bad corporate governance. This is the common belief within the corporate governance literature.”

To D(CS) or not to D(CS), that is the question

To fully understand the costs and benefits of DCS listings, Professor Liang embarked on the MOE Academic Research Fund (AcRF) Tier 2 project titled “Dual-Class Shares in a Time of Unicorns Going Public” in July 2019, and which concluded in September 2022. He explains the title’s reference to “A Time of Unicorns” as a counterpoint to the pre-Google IPO days when DCS listings were associated with family businesses looking to raise money without relinquishing control, an arrangement that raises red flags.

Within the context of tech unicorns, there were two arguments for a DCS structure: ‘founder’s vision’ and ‘long-term orientation’. Google’s 2004 IPO, which bestowed upon co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page a combined majority of voting rights despite owning little more than 10 percent of total shares, is often cited as Exhibit A for handing control to visionary leaders to move fast and capitalise on growth opportunities. Since then, Facebook, Lyft, and Pinterest have gone the DCS route. Professor Liang points to long-term orientation as a stronger justification for a DCS structure.

“Whenever you see stock prices fluctuate, you might panic, and institutional investors begin to question the company, ‘What are you doing?’” Professor Liang explains to the Office of Research & Tech Transfer. “In order to please the investor, the company does something to boost short-term returns, but that probably means giving up on some long-term projects [that might benefit the company later on].”

But the central question remains: Do listed firms with DCS outperform or underperform their single-class peers? Given the relative lack of data in Asia-Pacific where SGX has only one DCS listing (financial and investment firm AMTD, stock counter HKB) and SEHK just approaching its fifth year with such companies, Professor Liang examined U.S. data and existing literature in a collaboration with Zhang Wei, Associate Professor of Law at the SMU Yong Pung How School of Law, and former SMU postdoctoral fellow Junho Park, now Assistant Professor of Finance at Myongji University. The answer was ‘Yes’ on condition that DCS listings come with a ‘sunset clause: “Firms with perpetual dual-class stock trade at a significant discount to those with sunset provisions,” the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) wrote in 2018.

Sunset clauses turn preferential shares into ordinary ones after a period of time – usually seven years – or when the owner of such shares dies or becomes incapacitated. Should such shares be sold, the preferential voting rights cannot be transferred. As such, founders who are considering listing their companies with DCS should expect to outperform non-DCS companies post-IPO, but they should be mindful that perpetual DCS are unlikely to be beneficial long-term.

Together with Associate Professor Zhang Wei and SMU postdoctoral fellow Phuong Nguyen, Professor Liang also examined the following question: How will a change in listing rules worldwide, especially in Hong Kong and Singapore, affect investor expectation and the competitive landscape in the technological industries in Asia? He answers that question by looking at two dimensions: the competition channel and the capital channel.

“If investors, on average, favour DCS, we expect the prospect of allowing DCS listings in a market to lower the shareholder value of existing listed firms, as they cannot convert to DCS,” he wrote, articulating the competition channel. “In contrast, if investors see DCS as harmful to firm value, due to governance concerns, we expect investors in listed peer firms to react positively to the potential regulatory changes, as they are better protected.”

As it turned out, share prices of existing high-tech listed firms on SEHK lost ground between 2015 and 2017 when the stock exchange discussed permitting DCS listings, suggesting favourable investor expectations of companies with dual-class shares. But by the time Xiaomi listed in 2018, it became clear that “the regulatory change would enable all tech firms to attract more institutional capital”, and returns of incumbent high-tech firms listed in Hong Kong rose significantly, wrote Professor Liang of the capital channel. A rising tide of institutional capital lifts all boats, but technology firms, both with and without DCS, will benefit disproportionately.

Investors and regulators must decide

Despite these findings, concerns over corporate governance remain front and centre. With Southeast Asia generating its fair share of unicorns in recent years (Carsome, Grab, Bukalapak etc.), the topic of dual-class shares is unlikely to go away. Professor Liang cites former Google CEO Eric Schmidt telling critics of Google’s DCS structure – he owns over eight percent of preferred shares – to not buy its stocks if they do not approve of it; they will simply miss out on the exponential growth that has driven it to become one of the biggest companies in the world less than 30 years from its founding.

“If investors are concerned about governance, they will stop buying a stock, the company will become less and less popular, and over time the company will die out. We call this equilibrium,” observes Professor Liang. “That was what happened before Google’s [explosive post-IPO growth]. But if investors don't care about that, they care more about the benefits, or they think the benefits outweigh the cost, then they’ll just keep on buying Google and other dual-class share companies.”

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M 
Indian agency searches fintech Paytm, Razorpay and Cashfree offices in Chinese loan apps probe

Manish Singh
Sat, September 3, 2022 



India's financial crime fighting agency searched the offices of fintech unicorns Paytm and Razorpay as well as Cashfree on Friday as part of an ongoing investigation into fraudulent Chinese loan apps, it said Saturday, the latest in a series of probes in recent months.

The Enforcement Directorate said its searches at high-profile Indian firms and businesses controlled by Chinese personnel were prompted by 18 complaints made to the Cyber Crime Police in Bengaluru. The complaints alleged the businesses' involvement in "extortion and harassment of the public who had availed small amount of loans through the mobile apps."

"During enquiries, it has emerged that these entities are controlled/operated by Chinese persons. The modus operandi of these entities is by using forged documents of Indians and making them as dummy directors of those entities, they are generating proceeds of crime," the agency said in a statement (PDF).

"It has come to notice that the said entities were doing their suspected/illegal business through various merchant IDs/accounts held with payment gateways/banks," the agency added.

The entities operated by Chinese personnel were generating "proceeds of crime through merchant IDs/accounts held with payment gateways/banks," the agency said. There were discrepancies in the addresses where they were operating and what they had disclosed to the local authority, the agency said.

The agency said it seized an amount of $2.13 million from Chinese personnel-controlled entities and its searches are ongoing.

The government agency has performed over half a dozen probes into tech firms this year, including at Chinese smartphone vendors Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi and seized more than $1 billion of capital that it said firms had evaded in fraudulent tax computations.

Last week, it also searched the premises of CoinSwitch, a top local crypto exchange backed by Andreessen Horowitz and alleged the Indian firm acquired shares of over $200 million in violation of local forex laws, TechCrunch reported earlier.

The Enforcement Directorate also froze assets worth over $8 million from WazirX last month, citing suspected violation of foreign exchange rule, and $46 million from the local entity of Vauld for facilitating “crime-derived” proceeds from predatory lending firms.

Indian authorities are cracking down on lending apps that are charging exorbitant fees and using unethical means to collect the payments back. India's central bank is moving ahead with new guidelines for digital lending that will mandate firms to provide more disclosure and transparency to benefit consumers as well as restrict several business practices.

Google said last month that it has blocked over 2,000 unethical lending apps in India this year.

"We extended our diligent co-operation to the ED operations, providing them the required and necessary information on the same day of enquiry. Our operations and on-boarding processes adhere to the PMLA and KYC directions, and we will continue to do so in the time to follow," a Cashfree spokesperson said in a statement.

Predatory loan apps in India rake in huge fees, and are driving some users to suicide