| Asia IT Trends, 1st Week of April 2019


AMD CEO Lisa Su to Deliver Keynote at Computex 2019
TAITRA (Taiwan External Development Council), the organizer of COMPUTEX, [announced] the COMPUTEX 2019 International event to be held in Taiwan on May 27
It was announced on the 4th that AMD Chair and CEO Dr. Lisa Su is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech at the conference.

Chairwoman and CEO Lisa Su said, “I am honored to be able to introduce detailed information about AMD’s next-generation high-performance platforms and products as the first keynote speaker at this year’s Computex press conference.”

AMD, led by Dr. Lisa Su, recently announced the world's first 7nm gaming GPU, the AMD Radeon 7, and the first 7nm data center GPU, the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60. In addition, new products such as 7nm AMD EPYC data center processors, 3rd generation AMD Ryzen desktop processors, and graphics cards based on the next-generation Navi architecture are scheduled to be announced.


Toshiba Merges Two Semiconductor Subsidiaries… Strengthening R&D Efficiency in Semiconductor Business
Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation (TDSC) announced on March 28 that it will merge its subsidiaries, Toshiba Microelectronics Corporation (TOSMEC) and Toshiba Discrete Semiconductor Technology Corporation (TDIT), to establish a new company, Toshiba Electronic Device Solutions Corporation (TEDS).

This is expected to further strengthen the R&D efficiency and solution proposal capabilities of Toshiba's semiconductor business. TEDS began operations on April 1. TDIT is responsible for technical sales and product development of discrete semiconductors, while TOSMEC provides comprehensive system LSI services encompassing product planning, development, design, testing, and incident analysis.

Following the merger, TEDS will be responsible for product planning, product development, incident analysis, and solution proposals for the semiconductor business, and will cooperate with TDSC as an engineering subsidiary for the semiconductor business.


Velodyne Lidar Sponsors Japanese Automotive AI Competition
Velodyne Lidar announced on the 3rd that it participated as a Gold sponsor in the Japan Automotive AI Challenge held at the University of Tokyo on March 23 and 24. This competition, hosted by the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, sees several student teams compete in the accuracy of autonomous vehicle AI on test roads.
The AI algorithms developed by each team were installed in autonomous carts that would run on the test track. Each autonomous cart was equipped with a Velodyne Puck LiDAR sensor to provide the perception data necessary for autonomous driving. The championship went to the University of Tokyo team.

Dr. Shinpei Kato, Founder and CTO of Tier 4, stated, “This competition is designed to discover and nurture future engineers equipped with the AI technology development capabilities necessary for autonomous vehicles. We are pleased to not only help students develop image recognition skills—essential for autonomous vehicles—but also to provide them with valuable expertise and experience through the participation of Velodyne, a leader in the LiDAR market.”


TSE Signs Cooperation Agreement with Huawei for 150MW Solar Power Plant in Japan
Thai Solar Energy (TSE), a Thai renewable energy company, and Huawei jointly announced on March 26 that they had signed a cooperation agreement in Bangkok, Thailand. The agreement is to purchase Huawei's 1500V Smart PV solution to support the installed power generation capacity of the Onikobe Solar Power Plant, which has a capacity of over 150 MW and is located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.

With the signing of the agreement, comprehensive cooperation between TSE and Huawei for utility-scale PV power plants in the Asia-Pacific region has begun. Several senior executives from both companies attended the signing ceremony. TSE is one of the most influential PV power plant operators in Southeast Asia and has focused on the development and investment in utility-scale PV power plants for decades.


WeChat Pay Hosts 2019 WeChat Pay Global Partner Conference
WeChat Pay unveiled its latest strategy for the international payment business at the '2019 WeChat Pay Overseas Partner Conference' on March 21. Held under the theme 'One for Billion,' the conference supported global service providers and merchants in increasing accessibility to Chinese tourists through the WeChat ecosystem and expanding their businesses by acquiring Chinese tourists.

Li Peiku, Vice President of WeChat Pay, said, “Over the past five years, the development of China’s mobile payment technology has attracted global attention, and digitalization is rapidly taking place across all aspects of life,” adding, “The true driving force that enabled these changes is not just payment tools, but the support of service providers in various industries.”

According to data presented at this conference, the average monthly transaction volume of WeChat Pay in 2018 increased by 500% compared to the previous year, and the total transaction volume increased by 400%. Meanwhile, the number of service providers increased by 300% year-on-year, and the number of merchants supporting WeChat Pay increased by 700%. The number of Korean merchants that adopted WeChat Pay increased by more than 300% in 2018 alone. WeChat Pay is currently available in 49 countries and regions outside of China and supports international payment transactions in more than 16 currencies.