Home Blog Page 1753

Open Source AI Powers a New Era at Singapore FinTech Festival 2025 with the Launch of Global Hub and Future-Building Initiatives

SINGAPORE, Nov. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The 10th edition of the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF), held from 12 to 14 November 2025, marked a major milestone for the global technology and finance community with the launch of the Global Open Source AI Hub and the unveiling of a new strategic report, ‘Open Source AI in Financial Services: Navigating Strategy, Scale, and the Regulatory Frontier.’

Dr. Kelvin Tan, Head of Programme (Minor in Applied Ageing Studies), Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS); Mr. Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Information; Cynthia Ding, Advisor to the Board, Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN); and Max Liu, Co-founder and CEO, TiDB, at the Singapore FinTech Festival
Dr. Kelvin Tan, Head of Programme (Minor in Applied Ageing Studies), Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS); Mr. Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Information; Cynthia Ding, Advisor to the Board, Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN); and Max Liu, Co-founder and CEO, TiDB, at the Singapore FinTech Festival

Hosted at the Open Source Pavilion, co-organized by the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN), TiDB and Yincubator, the event spotlighted how open-source innovation is shaping the next era of scalable, regulation-aware AI adoption in financial services.

Singapore’s Strategic Role as a Global Open Source AI Hub

The launch of the Global Open Source AI Hub was officiated by Guest-of-Honour, Mr Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Information, on 14 November, where he underscored Singapore’s continued commitment to strengthening the global open-source ecosystem.

Singapore’s emergence as a Global Open Source AI Hub reflects its unique strengths of neutrality, trust, and interoperability. With its pro-innovation governance, robust digital infrastructure, and strong legal foundations, Singapore provides an environment where global collaboration on open source can thrive. The Hub represents a key strategic contribution to the global AI ecosystem, serving as a neutral platform where policy, technology, and community can converge to build transparent, inclusive, and regulation-ready AI systems.

Three Pillars of the Open Source AI Hub: Talent, Community, and Commercialization

The Open Source AI Hub aims to advance open innovation through three core focus areas:

Talent: Partnering with academia and industry to build learning, certification, and reskilling programs that connect open-source contributions to real-world careers.
Community: Strengthening collaboration across regulators, developers, and enterprises to shape shared standards for responsible AI.
Commercialization: Turning open-source innovation into real-world adoption through trusted governance, high-value use cases, and cross-border data collaboration.

From Vision to Action

Yincubator introduced the Born Global Package at the event — a practical pathway built on its proven Full-Stack Globalization framework to accelerate AI-native and open-source startups from Singapore. It provides one-stop incorporation and IP domiciling, access to IMDA programs, global talent pipelines, open-source ecosystem connections, and B2B market acceleration supported by Yincubator’s investor network. “It is the first ‘Global Passport’ enabling startups to land, grow, and lead globally from Singapore,” said Gavin Gui, Partner at Yincubator.

Open Source and the Future of Financial AI

The newly launched report, developed by TiDB in collaboration with industry partners, explores how open-source technologies can enable scalable and regulation-aware AI adoption amid increasing global policy fragmentation. It calls for a new playbook that integrates scalable workloads, open infrastructure, workforce evolution, and governance frameworks aligned with evolving regulatory standards.

Cynthia Ding, Advisor to the Board, Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) said,

“The fintech sector has made remarkable progress in adopting AI, but the real challenge now lies in achieving regulatory alignment. Open source provides a foundation for transparency, interoperability, and shared governance. Through the Open Source Pavilion, we have seen how collaboration between developers, financial institutions, and regulators can close the gaps that currently slow down AI deployment.”

Max Liu, Co-founder and CEO of TiDB, added,

“We are honoured to collaborate with Yincubator and SFF to share our findings. Our research highlights that while AI’s promise is immense, realizing it requires systems that are regulation-aware by design. Open-source infrastructure enables precisely that, helping institutions scale responsibly, comply effectively, and innovate without compromise.”

Building a Connected Future

The Open Source AI Pavilion Showcase concluded the event with live demonstrations from contributors and companies across the ecosystem.

With over 70,000 policymakers, technologists, and industry leaders from 130 countries in attendance, SFF 2025 reaffirmed Singapore’s leadership in fostering global collaboration on responsible innovation, digital transformation, and sustainable finance.

For further information, please contact:  
Yan Yang – TiDB, APAC Marketing Lead
yan.yang@pingcap.com  

 

Laos Opens Chinese Market to Longan, Durian Exports

On 13 November, Laos and China strengthened their agricultural partnership (Photo: Vientiane Times)

On 13 November, Laos and China strengthened their agricultural partnership, opening new export opportunities following high-level talks in Chongqing, held alongside the 9th ASEAN–China Ministerial SPS Cooperation Meeting.

OutSystems Agent Workbench Accelerates Enterprise Agentic AI Adoption

Pioneers like Thermo Fisher, Axos Bank, and Ascot Insurance have more than 5,500 AI agents in development, delivering measurable efficiency gains and optimizing workflows

SINGAPORE, Nov. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — OutSystems, the leading AI-powered low-code development platform, today announced strong early momentum for Agent Workbench, its enterprise-grade platform for building and orchestrating intelligent AI agents across data sets, workflows, or systems. Following its general availability launch on September 30, enterprises across industries are already using Agent Workbench to accelerate agentic transformation, moving from pilots to production and orchestrating multi-agent workflows with built-in human oversight that delivers measurable business outcomes.

As showcased during today’s OutSystems ONE World Tour Miami conference, Agent Workbench is experiencing impressive growth, with more than 5,500 agents in development. A fast-growing community of nearly 1,500 certified developers is already building enterprise-grade agentic applications with Agent Workbench.

“The enterprise AI race isn’t won by faster experiments; it’s won by building trusted AI-powered systems that scale,” said Woodson Martin, CEO of OutSystems. “With Agent Workbench, enterprises are building an agentic future that connects data, managing the full agent lifecycle, and orchestrating human-AI collaboration to transform how work gets done and deliver unprecedented business value. The early momentum we’re seeing proves that enterprises are ready to move beyond experimentation and deploy AI that truly performs at scale.”

From Pilots to Production: Enterprises Are Going Live with Agentic AI

  • Axos Bank is using Agent Workbench to accelerate operational efficiency and automate critical internal workflows. The team developed an intelligent log analysis agent that interprets error logs and provides real-time recommendations, reducing the need for manual analysis. They also built an automated document mapping agent to improve accuracy and eliminate repetitive data entry tasks.
  • Thermo Fisher Scientific is transforming its customer operations with a Customer Escalation Agent built in Agent Workbench. The solution interprets unstructured data from customer interactions to automate triage and accelerate resolution, reducing manual intervention and improving time to resolution.
  • Ascot Insurance is leveraging Agent Workbench to instantly assess critical Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) within their “Avail Claims” system. Where traditional systems fail to read unstructured data, the new workflow utilizes AI to intelligently interpret agent activity logs and notes to accurately determine KPI status—data previously inaccessible without Agent Workbench.
  • MAGnet Auctions developed an AI agent within OutSystems to dramatically streamline the vehicle entry quality assurance process. The agent automatically identifies and reads odometer photos, comparing the detected mileage against the database record to flag potential discrepancies. By introducing this intelligent automation, MAGnet reduced the number of photos requiring manual human review by over 90%, delivering significant cost savings, improved data accuracy, and an enhanced customer experience. The initiative also enabled the reallocation of human resources from repetitive QA tasks to higher-value work — a clear example of how agentic AI can transform operational efficiency.

“Our work with OutSystems on Agent Workbench is a significant step in our AI strategy. We’re expanding the use of AI capabilities within OutSystems to realize immediate gains, without needing to invest in specialized AI roles,” said Kevin Hearn, SVP, Head of Consumer Bank Development at Axos Bank. “With Agent Workbench, we can quickly and safely create agents for specific use cases, such as analyzing error logs and automating data entry from documents. By creating and embedding agents into our operations, we are building a more intelligent and responsive banking ecosystem that is ready for the future of finance.”

An Open Ecosystem: Deploying Agents Where Work Happens
OutSystems is building an open agentic ecosystem that allows enterprises to deploy AI agents across critical workflows and lets enterprises plug in any LLM and put it to work where it matters.

Connect a model once in Agent Workbench and reuse that connection across multiple agents and applications without rewrites or reconfiguration. With support for Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Cohere, Mistral, Databricks, AI2, IBM watsonx, Vertex AI custom models, and Hugging Face open source options, teams can route, mix, or swap models per use case to balance accuracy, cost, and latency while staying flexible as the AI landscape evolves.

On top of this open LLM layer, teams can tap into a fast-growing library of ready-to-use agents and agentic applications for the systems where work happens every day:

  • Productivity and scheduling platforms such as Google Calendar, where smart schedulers create meetings, set agendas, and capture follow-ups.
  • Collaboration and knowledge systems like Confluence, and Notion, where agents post updates, summarize channels, and send reminders to accelerate decision-making.
  • Work management tools including Trello, Asana, Monday.com, and Jira, where agents automate intake, create or update tasks, assign owners, and track progress.

As part of its mission to make enterprise AI adoption accessible, OutSystems has trained and certified nearly 1,500 AI developers on the Agent Workbench platform, enabling organizations to rapidly scale their agentic capabilities. As OutSystems expands its global enablement programs, enterprises are encouraged to onboard their AI developers before the end of 2025.

Agent Workbench is now generally available worldwide. To learn more about how enterprises are using agentic AI to drive innovation, visit the OutSystems Agent Workbench homepage.

About OutSystems
OutSystems is the leading AI-powered low-code development platform trusted by thousands of customers worldwide. The platform empowers CEOs, management teams, and technology leaders to build mission-critical applications and agentic systems that grow revenue, streamline operations, and deliver exactly what businesses need.

While evolving AI pilots into production success can be challenging due to talent gaps, legacy systems, imperfect data, and sprawling point solutions, OutSystems provides a proven low-code platform and AI-driven development experience that enables innovation up to 10x faster with the assurance of built-in security, scalability, and governance.

Recognized as a leader by analysts, IT executives, business leaders, and developers around the world, global brands trust OutSystems to innovate as fast as the evolving market demands and orchestrate powerful human + AI collaboration in the agentic future.

Founded in 2001, the company’s network spans more than 60 million end users, over 500 partners, and active customers in 75+ countries across 20+ industries. Learn more at www.outsystems.com.

Silk Road International Arts Festival Bringing Global Voices Together Through Culture

XI’AN, China, Nov. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — This is a news release from the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism: As the strains of Nessun Dorma from Puccini’s Turandot filled the Shaanxi Grand Theatre on the afternoon of November 9, the curtain fell on the 11th Silk Road International Arts Festival—a 25-day celebration that transformed the ancient capital into the epicenter of global cultural exchange.

Hosted by the Shaanxi Provincial Government and co-organized by the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and the Xi’an Municipal Government, the festival painted a modern portrait of East-West dialogue at one of the world’s most historic crossroads.

Between October 16 and November 9, Xi’an welcomed over 1,900 artists from 84 countries and regions, staging more than 60 performances and 30 cultural events attended by 80,000 in-person visitors. Online broadcasts reached audiences well into the hundreds of millions.

This year, China’s new 240-hour transit visa-free policy permits eligible travelers to enter China through Xi’an Xianyang International Airport and stay in Shaanxi for up to six days without securing a visa in advance. Festival officials noted a marked rise in international attendees—artists, tourists, and cultural delegations—who routed through Xi’an en route to third destinations, taking advantage of the city’s increasingly open gateway to the world.

For the first time, architectural works from the Politecnico di Milano were featured, signaling deeper cooperation between China and Italy in design and visual arts. Artists embraced cross-cultural creation with enthusiasm: an Argentine painter composed poems for his pieces inspired by Chinese aesthetics; Russian artists integrated the Chinese character “福” (fortune) into their oil paintings as a blessing for the Silk Road.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Clarinet Quintet introduced American chamber music traditions, while Broadway and London’s West End talent headlined a star-studded musical gala.

“It’s not just an exhibition,” one Slovenian artist commented. “It’s a conversation between people, and between ideas.”

The China–Central Asia joint exhibition, displaying over 100 representative works across painting, silk art, and intangible heritage, invited audiences to witness the shared beauty found amid cultural differences.

The 11th Silk Road International Arts Festival stood as a compelling testament to the power of culture to connect civilizations. The Silk Road, once defined by caravans and distant horizons, now shines anew — illuminated by creativity, shared humanity, and the enduring power of cultural exchange.

State Grid Jinchang Power Supply Company: Technology Empowers a Smarter Power Grid

JINCHANG, China, Nov. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Recently, a multi-rotor UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) flew steadily along a preset route, conducting refined autonomous inspections on the 330-kilovolt transmission lines of State Grid Jinchang Power Supply Company. By leveraging technological empowerment, the company has strengthened the “safety net” for power grid operations, injecting robust innovative momentum into the stable and secure operation of the power grid during the winter peak load period.

Transmission line corridors feature complex and diverse environments, often spanning highways, railways, power lines of varying voltage levels, and tree-growing areas. The safe distance at these “crossing points” is crucial to ensuring the reliable operation of the power grid. Insufficient distances, exacerbated by external factors such as strong winds and high temperatures, can easily trigger discharges, short circuits, and other accidents. Minor incidents may lead to line tripping and regional power outages, while severe cases could spark wildfires, posing a serious threat to public safety. Previously, traditional inspections relied primarily on line patrol personnel using binoculars, rangefinders, and other tools for ground measurements. This approach not only suffered from low efficiency and high labor intensity but also frequently resulted in measurement errors due to topographical constraints, making it difficult to detect potential hidden hazards in a timely manner and leaving risks to grid safety.

To fully address this industry challenge, the Transmission Operation and Maintenance Center of the company took proactive steps to innovate, actively introducing intelligent UAV inspection technology and initiating a smart transformation from “human-based defense” to “technology-based defense”—a significant breakthrough in the field of power grid inspections. The UAVs deployed by the center are equipped with high-definition visible light cameras and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) devices.

At the operation site, maintenance personnel only need to preset the flight path, and the UAV can independently complete a series of operations including takeoff and line patrol. Its high-precision positioning system works in tandem with LiDAR to instantly capture the 3D spatial coordinates of crossing points, generating high-definition point cloud models and orthophotos in real time. Through precise post-processing with professional software, the net distance between any two points can be calculated with centimeter-level accuracy, marking a qualitative leap compared to traditional measurement methods.

With technological innovation as its core, the Transmission Operation and Maintenance Center has driven the transformation of power grid inspection models. Utilizing innovative technologies, the center has completed inspections of 442.28 kilometers of key transmission corridors, accurately identified, and successfully addressed 7 potential safety hazards related to insufficient crossing distances. These achievements fully demonstrate the practical effectiveness of technological innovation in power grid operation and maintenance.

Power “Warmth” Supports Enterprises Through Winter Peak Demand

JINCHANG, China, Nov. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — “Today, all the factory’s equipment can finally start up at the same time—we no longer have to worry about power supply!” On November 9th, Yang Shuguo, electrical contact person of Jinchang Bengxin Wangda Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., expressed his gratitude to State Grid Jinchang Power Supply Company at the company’s workshop. As the winter peak electricity demand approaches, a timely and efficient line maintenance has reassured this high-load power-consuming enterprise.

The 08 feeder of Branch 118 on State Grid’s 126 Jinwu Line, like a “power artery,” supplies developmental momentum to multiple small and medium-sized enterprises along its route. Among them, Jinchang Bengxin Wangda Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. has extremely high requirements for power supply stability—any disruption could impact production schedules.

“Winter power load keeps rising, so we must take preventive measures,” noted a relevant person in charge of State Grid Jinchang Power Supply Company. During winter equipment inspections, the company detected potential safety hazards on the line and immediately launched an emergency response: dispatching key operation and maintenance personnel to form a special maintenance team, formulating detailed plans, and clarifying work divisions and safety requirements. A race-against-time “power guarantee campaign” quietly unfolded.

At the maintenance site, bitter cold failed to dampen the staff’s enthusiasm. They strictly followed standardized procedures—patrolling lines, testing equipment, eliminating defects—each step executed with meticulous care. Targeting critical issues such as aging user boundary switches, the maintenance team implemented precise optimizations and adjustments to ensure equipment operates in “peak condition.”

This maintenance is not only an emergency measure to eliminate hazards but also a microcosm of State Grid Jinchang Power Supply Company’s special “Winter Peak Support” initiative. The company continuously enhances its quality services: on one hand, accelerating power grid upgrading and renovation while conducting regular inspections and maintenance; on the other hand, streamlining repair channels and launching “one-stop” services including electricity consultation, connection applications, and fault reporting, making power use more convenient for enterprises.

The tenet of “Electricity for the People” has transformed into tangible warmth in the cold winter. As the hum of machinery echoes again in Jinchang Bengxin Wangda’s workshops and stable electric current flows to thousands of households, this dedicated power team has injected strong vitality into local economic development with their sense of responsibility and commitment—making this winter warm and cozy, powered by reliable electricity.

Thunes Triumphs with Double Win at 2025 APAC Payments Excellence Awards

Emerging Payments Association Asia recognises Thunes in two prestigious categories

SINGAPORE, Nov. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Thunes, the Smart Superhighway to move money around the world, has secured two top honours at the 2025 APAC Payments Excellence Awards: Excellence in Cross-Border Payments and Best B2C Payments Experience.

Hosted by the Emerging Payments Association Asia (EPAA), the awards celebrate the most forward-thinking players shaping the future of payments in the region. This marks the second consecutive year Thunes has secured the Excellence in Cross-Border Payments title, cementing its position as the go-to leader for instant and inclusive global money movement.

The wins highlight Thunes’ momentum in expanding its connected and trusted Direct Global Network which spans 130 countries in over 80 currencies, with more than 22 billion endpoints including mobile wallets, bank accounts, stablecoin wallets, cards and cash pick up locations. As the Smart Superhighway to move money around the world, Thunes empowers its Members and their end users to move money across borders faster, smarter, and more transparently than ever before.

Mathieu Limousi, Chief Marketing Officer at Thunes, said: “These awards are a powerful validation of Thunes’ original vision to make international payments as easy and accessible as sending a text. We’re incredibly proud to be recognised once again by EPAA, as proof that our relentless innovation, world-class Network, and commitment to financial inclusion are transforming the way the world moves money. We are grateful to our team for continuing to push boundaries every day, and to our Members for their ongoing trust and belief in Thunes.”

Daphne Huang, Chief Government Affairs Officer at Thunes, added: “Winning both of these awards in Asia, our home region, underscores the strength of our Network and the trust our Members place in Thunes to deliver at scale. From global brands to emerging fintechs, we’re enabling transparent, secure global payments that drive real impact for billions of people worldwide. This latest recognition fuels our ambition to set new industry benchmarks and lead the next wave of payment innovation across APAC and beyond.”

OCBC Adds Eight Major Digital Wallets across Southeast Asia to OCBC App

The partnership with Visa makes the OCBC app the most connected banking app in the region with coverage of 10 digital wallets


SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 20 November 2025 – OCBC customers in Singapore can now transfer money directly from their OCBC bank accounts to eight leading digital wallets across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam via the OCBC app. This expansion builds on last year’s integration of Weixin Pay (WeChat Pay) and Alipay, making the OCBC app Southeast Asia’s most connected for wallet payments, with 10 wallets in total. The new connections are part of OCBC’s ongoing strategic partnership with Visa, which began in 2024 to enhance cross-border payment capabilities. This feature is expected to significantly benefit Singapore’s foreign workforce by simplifying remittances and helping them stay connected with loved ones.

With this expanded partnership, OCBC customers can make near-instant, fee-free transfers to Coins (Philippines), GCash (Philippines), GoPay (Indonesia), LinkAja (Indonesia), Momo (Vietnam), Ovo (Indonesia), PayMaya (Philippines), and Touch ‘n Go (Malaysia). These wallets, in addition to the two Chinese wallets, collectively represent a total user base of up to 2.72 billion.

This pay-to-wallet feature on the OCBC app tackles key remittance challenges – speed, cost, and accessibility – especially for the region’s large unbanked population. The foreign workforce in Singapore stand to benefit the most, as many still rely on slower and costlier over-the-counter services, cash agents, or manual bank transfers. With OCBC’s app, workers or their employers can send money directly to their home country’s wallets, removing the need for recipients to have a bank account or visit a physical location.

Since launching the service with Chinese wallets a year ago, OCBC has processed over SGD 60 million in transfers, driving a fourfold increase in cross-border transfers to China, a key market for the bank. Ninety per cent of users have not visited a branch recently, and three-quarters are PMETs, mainly Chinese nationals sending money home. With this expansion, OCBC expects significant adoption among Singapore’s 1.6 million-strong foreign workforce.

Mr. Sunny Quek, Head of Global Consumer Financial Services, OCBC said: “When we launched pay-to-wallet transfers last year, we promised to go beyond China and we have since delivered. By connecting OCBC accounts to eight of Southeast Asia’s most popular wallets, we are removing friction from cross-border payments and making remittances faster, cheaper and more inclusive. We’re not stopping here – our long-term goal is to connect customers to 50 digital wallets worldwide, giving them the most comprehensive wallet access of any banking app.”

The OCBC app’s pay-to-wallet capabilities are powered by Visa Direct, which provides access to nearly 11 billion endpoints, including 3.5+ billion accounts, 4+ billion cards, and 3.5+ billion digital wallets.

“Visa Direct is transforming the way money moves globally. By enabling direct bank-to-wallet transfers across Southeast Asia, we’re helping to bridge financial gaps and support the millions of people who rely on remittances for daily needs. Our latest Visa International Remittances report shows that nearly six in ten Singaporean remittance users plan to maintain or increase the amount they send overseas this year—a testament to the resilience and digital maturity of Singapore’s financial landscape,” said Ms. Adeline Kim, Visa Country Manager for Singapore & Brunei.

“Our expanded partnership with OCBC enables us to connect additional digital wallets across Southeast Asia, empowering customers to send money quickly, securely, and conveniently. We look forward to extending our reach to more wallet partners in the near future,” she added.Hashtag: #Visa

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About OCBC

OCBC is the longest established Singapore bank, formed in 1932 from the merger of three local banks, the oldest of which was founded in 1912. It is one of the world’s most highly-rated banks, with Aa1 by Moody’s and AA- by both Fitch and S&P. Recognised for its financial strength and stability, OCBC is consistently ranked among the World’s Top 50 Safest Banks by Global Finance and has been named Best Managed Bank in Singapore by The Asian Banker.

OCBC is the second largest financial services group in Southeast Asia by assets. The Group offers a broad array of commercial banking, specialist financial and wealth management services, ranging from consumer, corporate, investment, private and transaction banking to treasury, insurance, asset management and stockbroking services.

OCBC’s private banking services are provided by its wholly-owned subsidiary Bank of Singapore, which operates on a unique open-architecture product platform to source for the best-in-class products to meet its clients’ goals. Its insurance subsidiary, Great Eastern Holdings, is the oldest and most established life insurance group in Singapore and Malaysia. Its asset management subsidiary, Lion Global Investors, is one of the leading asset management companies in Southeast Asia. Its brokerage subsidiary, OCBC Securities, is one of the leading securities firms in Singapore.

The Group’s key markets are Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China. It has close to 400 branches and representative offices in 19 countries and regions.

For more information, please visit .

About Visa

Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, sellers, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com.