Our Focus Areas

January 15, 2021

DatVietVAC Group Holdings (Vietnam) – Leveraging Entertainment as a Force for Good in Face of COVID-19 Challenges

Vietnamese entertainment giant DatVietVAC Group Holdings is an example of how a company can leverage media and content as a force for good during the pandemic. It played no small part in helping the Vietnamese government promote the official BlueZone app, which helped contain the virus. By mobilizing its network of celebrities, DatVietVAC encouraged the

January 15, 2021

Esquel Group (Hong Kong) – Launching a Sustainable Mask Amidst a Public Health Crisis

Hong Kong-based textile company Esquel Group reaffirmed its commitment to sustainability by developing a reusable mask even as it was hit hard by the unfolding pandemic and escalating U.S.-China tensions. While initially made for donations, especially in the communities where it had operations, the product soon became a business as well, demonstrating that social responsibility

January 15, 2021

Fubon Group (Taiwan) – Forming a Mobile Phone-Based Information System to Prevent Community Outbreaks

One of the main reasons Taiwan had so few COVID-19 cases at the start of the pandemic was the development of a mobile phone-based information tracking system called the Intelligent Electronic Fences System (IEFS). Taiwan Mobile, the telecoms arm of the Fubon Group, played a key role in this endeavor, as it joined hands with

May 17, 2021

Lenovo (China) – Championing Educational Technologies to Enable Virtual Learning Experiences Worldwide

Leveraging its resources and expertise, Lenovo, a leading technology company with operational headquarters in Beijing and Morrisville, North Carolina, and financial headquarters in Hong Kong, developed educational solutions that could “go beyond the device” during the pandemic.  While its commercial solutions ranged from hybrid classrooms to cybersecurity and virtual reality, Lenovo’s philanthropic efforts included hardware

January 15, 2021

Lotte Group (South Korea) – Embracing “Open Innovation” in E-Commerce for the Post-Corona Era

For Lotte Group, the fifth largest conglomerate in South Korea, the response to the crisis was not just about braving the storms of the pandemic but also about accelerating pre-COVID-19 developments. Lotte saw its e-commerce app, Lotte On, as the key to its business transformation. Building on the idea of “open innovation,” or the practice

January 15, 2021

Temasek (Singapore) – Tapping Investment Expertise and Diverse Networks to Help Fight the Virus

Among its many initiatives in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Temasek’s investments in medical initiatives best demonstrate its agility, resourcefulness, and innovation. Widely seen as one of the most sophisticated government-owned investors in the world, the Singapore-based company has been applauded for tapping its diverse networks and expertise to find solutions for global shortages of

January 15, 2021

Yoma Group (Myanmar) – Accelerating Financial Inclusion in a Time of Social Distancing

For Myanmar-based conglomerate Yoma Group, the COVID-19 pandemic was a defining moment in its service to the country. Although its acquisition of mobile financial services operator Wave Money was planned before the pandemic, it was the trying times of 2020 that truly underscored the importance of mobile money in promoting financial inclusion in Myanmar. The

September 30, 2019

Digital Technology for Inclusion: The India Story

Using India as a case, this Asia Business Council briefing looks at how the use of digital technology by the government and private sector is helping to change society, largely for the better. It explores how digital technology has enabled more people to access government benefits and expand economic opportunities in ways that were elusive

February 28, 2019

Public Health, Climate Change, and Technology: Innovating Toward a Healthier Asia

Public health and climate change are both great challenges for Asia. Together they create a nexus of concern that could become the next big crisis for the region. While rapid economic development has pulled hundreds of millions out of poverty and people’s health and lives are much improved, Asia is dealing with an emerging set

September 15, 2018

Shenzhen, Beijing, and Silicon Valley: Chinese and U.S. Technology Clusters Vie for Supremacy

Driven by a proliferation of emerging, connected, and converging technologies, the economic future for China and the U.S will be one of immense change. Currently, a nation’s ability to innovate is closely linked to perception of national mastery, extending national hegemony into ecosystems of business infrastructure such as those created by large technology companies. Increasingly,