With a view to building a digital ecosystem in the Southeast Asia region, Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei has declared an $81 million investment at its fourth annual Asia-Pacific Innovation Day program.
The announcement came at a two-day event that kicked off at Hotel Siam Kempinski in Bangkok, Thailand on Wednesday with the theme “Innovate for a Digital Asia-Pacific.”
Over the next three years, the telecom giant will invest money in setting up open labs, enabling cloud developers, and cultivating ICT talent in the Southeast Asian countries.
Huawei’s Southeast Asia Region President James Wu unveiled its “developer enablement plan” for the region, saying that it was aimed at supporting digital economy growth and cultivating an ecosystem in the region.
“Huawei aims to empower developers and promote young talent in Southeast Asia. We have over 30 years of experience and capabilities in the ICT sector. Through APIs and development platforms, we will open up our capabilities to our partners in the region,” Wu told the program.
“This is a huge opportunity for developers to create targeted solutions to the digitalization of industries and grow their own business. By working together, we can dream bigger and fly higher.”
Among others, Dr Suvit Maesincee, the Thai minister for science and technology; Mustafa Jabbar, the minister of posts, telecommunications and information technology of Bangladesh; Bounsaleumsay Khennavong, vice-minister of posts and telecommunications of Laos, and Dr Kan Channmeta, secretary of state at the ministry of posts and telecommunication of Cambodia, joined the event.
Addressing the program, Mustafa said the Bangladesh government has its own plan to develop the country’s ICT sector and is now considering introducing the 5G internet network service by 2021.
“We are living in an era of information technology, and there is no option for Bangladesh to be left behind in the race. We have our plan to introduce the 5G internet service across the country in 2021, when Bangladesh will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence,” he said.
Nearly 300 attendees from the Southeast Asian region gathered at the event to share their ideas and explore how the digital infrastructure accelerates the growth of digital economy, enriches people’s lives, drives innovation and helps cultivate an ecosystem of shared success.
Discussants acknowledged that the Asia-Pacific region had been experiencing a wave of industry digitization, with a digital economy flourishing by leaps and bounds every day.
Delivering the keynote speech, Dr Somkid Jatusripitak, deputy prime minister of Thailand, delved into the country’s strategy of “going digital” and described how the strategy is driving the transformation and modernization of the Thai economy.
He reaffirmed the Thai government’s commitment to create a favorable environment for digital innovation, stressing Huawei’s role as an important contributor to the development of Thailand’s ICT industry.
Jatusripitak underscored the need for an in-depth collaboration between Thailand and Huawei.
Guo Ping, rotating chairman of Huawei, in his address highlighted the importance of a digital ecosystem.
“Many economies in the Asia-Pacific region have set out on their digital transformation journey. But their growth has been uneven. The gap between developed and developing economies is widening, and we see the emergence of a Matthew effect where the digitally-advanced economies produce greater returns on their infrastructure than the less-developed economies. However, we can work together to get ahead of this trend,” he said.
He went on to liken a country’s digital needs to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
“Digital needs can be broken down into different layers: infrastructure, security assurance, industry digitization, and the development of a ‘digital brain’. The higher the level within the hierarchy, the more resources governments need to integrate across governmental departments, and the more industries and partners they need to work with,” Ping continued.
“Ecosystem is critical here,” he said. “Governments need to take the lead, industries need to proactively do their part, and individuals need to work to improve their digital skills. Huawei is ready and willing to work with the Asia-Pacific countries to build their digital ecosystems.”
“We will collaborate openly and extensively, and happily share our own slice of the market with others. Together, we can grow the industry and make the pie bigger for everyone involved.”
The speakers also shared their ideas on building the digital ecosystem and talked at length about policy measures, digital transformation of industries, artificial intelligence unicorns, and how the ICT will contribute to the development of future generations.
Among the discussants were Ashish Narayan, program coordinator in the ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific; Dr Bundhit Eua-arporn, president of Chulalongkorn University in Thailand; Hu Yannian, deputy director of Smart Weifang Construction Office; Victor Topoyossakul, chief commercial officer at BSS Holding Company Ltd, and Lv Hao, chief innovation officer at Yi Tu Technology.
Since 2013, Huawei has been organizing such events in London, Milan, Munich, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, and Sao Paulo.
The telecom giant advocates openness, innovation, collaboration, and shared successes, and is committed to bringing digital services to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world.