15 INFLUENCERS TO IMPACT

ICT IN ASIA PACIFIC IN 2015…

YOU SHOULD READ THIS IF YOU’RE:

* A GOVERNMENT RELATIONS OR PUBLIC POLICY PROFESSIONAL IN TECHNOLOGY

* AN INVESTOR INTENDING TO ENTER THE TECH MARKET IN ASIA PACIFIC

* A JOURNALIST WONDERING WHO THE MOVERS AND SHAKERS OF ASIA PACIFIC ARE

… AND THEREFORE TO KEEP AN

EYE ON

1. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Senator, PhilippinesFighting the good fight and actively working to pass the MCPIF bill on Internet freedom before her term ends in 2016.

2. Nina Hachigian, US Ambassador to ASEANObama’s representative on all things US–ASEAN.

3. Lee Sirgoo, Co-CEO of Daum Kakao, South KoreaOpenly defying the government on data privacy in defence of consumer rights and corporate governance.

4. Lei Jun, CEO and Founder of Xiaomi Tech, ChinaDevice maker that stands to completely disrupt existing business models and step to the front of the next generation of globally ambitious Chinese tech companies.

5. Lu Wei, Head of the State Internet Information Office, ChinaStrong-willed gatekeeper of China’s Internet pushing to influence global Internet governance.

6. Mario Go Montejo, Secretary of DOST & Louis Casambre, Undersecretary of DOST and Executive Director of the ICT Office, PhilippinesAdopting a visionary stance in advancing new, next-generation technologies to build disaster resilience, and pioneer national connectivity with large-scale TVWS deployments.

7. David Ng, CEO of gumi Asia, SingaporeAddictive mobile games, made in Singapore, with an Asian footprint, achieving global scale and success.

THE 15 TO WATCH8. Nguyen Manh Hung, Director of Viettel, VietnamLeading Vietnam’s expansion of IT services internationally into Tier-2 and ‘non-traditional’ markets.

9. Amit Ranjan, Head of Government’s New Open-source Project, IndiaRepresenting a new age of government officials made up of technopreneurs and start-up founders.

10. Smart Nation Programme Office & Cyber Security Agency, SingaporeNext-generation oversight offices foreshadowing a new landscape of – necessary – cross-coordination between government agencies.

11. Masayoshi Son, Founder and CEO of SoftBank, JapanOn an impressive international buying spree, aiming to become the world’s biggest company.

12. Tri Rismaharini, Mayor of Surabaya, IndonesiaLeading good governance and free education in Surabaya.

13. Truong Gia Binh, Chairman and Co-Founder of FPT, VietnamEstablishing Vietnam’s university for busting through the IT and business skills shortage in the country.

14. Malcolm Turnbull, Minister of Communications, AustraliaMaverick conservative politician setting a tone for Australia’s communications landscape that will impact policy in various Asian economies.

15. Joshua Wong, Student Activist, Hong Kong18 year-old leader of Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement who has – unwittingly – laid bare the Faustian bargain between business, government, China and democracy in the territory.

Miriam DEFENSOR-SANTIAGOSenator of the Philippines

Hardest Working Senator

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Senator Defensor-Santiago is the champion behind the Magna Carta for Philippine Internet Freedom (MCPIF) Bill which protects the rights and freedom of Filipinos in cyber space. While hundreds of bills are filed each year in the Philippines, the MCPIF needs to be taken seriously: if passed it repeals the controversial and draconian Cybercrime Prevention Act which – while the global tumult response to its release has died away – remains on the books in the Philippines. Senator Defensor-Santiago is one of the hardest working members of senate, having filed some 1,007 bills and resolutions in 2014 – all while battling lung cancer.In 2015, Senator Defensor-Santiago is committed to passing the MCPIF before her term ends in 2016. Then the question becomes whether this strengthens her position as a prime contender for the 2016 presidential race.

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Nina HACHIGIANUS Ambassador to ASEAN

As Obama’s voice in South East Asia, Ambassador Hachigian will be instrumental in bridging the gap between the US and ASEAN on all things ASEAN, and work together to support the goals of creating an ASEAN Economic Community in 2015. The US Mission to ASEAN will work with ASEAN and its member states on specifically ASEAN-wide issues, rather than bi-lateral issues, or multi-lateral such as the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).With the Obama administration’s re-pivot towards Asia, Ambassador Hachigian has a big role to play in building a connection amongst governments in ASEAN and US businesses.While the US Mission to ASEAN will look at issues across the board, observers should be looking towards and engaging with Ambassador Hachigian to play a crucial role as Obama’s representative advocating lower barriers to eCommerce, and cross border data flows and transactions among other investment issues.

ASEAN Hinge in US-Asia Pivot

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LEE SirgooCo-CEO of Daum Kakao

Speaking Up for User Privacy

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In chaebol-dominated South Korea, Lee stands out for openly defying the government’s intrusive mandates on surveillance.Despite initially handing over personal user data from KakaoTalk to the authorities, Lee announced he would disregard any further requests from the government, becoming the first high profile CEO of a major company to stand up to the government in support of personal privacy rights and corporate governance.Somewhat more prosaically, and perhaps a little less generously, Lee’s motives are likely twofold: to stem the migration of KakaoTalk users to other platforms, and to send a clear signal to the international market where Kakao has been seeing much of its growth come from. It may be a little worrisome that we are flagging customer care from a service company (!) as a standout feature, but given the environment and the focus upon privacy and user data, Lee’s stand makes him a player to watch in 2015.

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LEI JunFounder and CEO of Xiaomi Tech

The questions being asked of Xiaomi are not whether they will make waves in 2015, but how big and where? Xiaomi will continue leveraging off its enormous success in China to establish itself in emerging economies and become a global player. Xiaomi has not simply disrupted the smartphone industry, but has wholesale overturned existing business models:

Handsets compete directly against Apple and Samsung in terms of specs – they are beautiful, well-made devices – at a fraction of the cost, appealing to consumers across the spectrum, but particularly in the mid- and lower-demos;Xiaomi employs “flash sales” and social media rather than relying on traditional retail shops or eCommerce; Xiaomi announces its flash sales on social media, selling limited numbers of devices – which get snapped up in minutes.

Microsoft’s launch of a USD29 Internet phone shows that the mass markets of emerging economies are the next battleground and this must have Apple and Samsung nervous of their own economics – just as Nokia was once made nervous of those guys. Just don’t call Lei the Steve Jobs of China…

Small Grains 小米 /Big Gains

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LU WeiHead of China’s State Information Office

It is probably only China that can get away with hardening Internet controls and restrictions, and know that foreign investment and the Internet industry will continue to grow. Behind these actions stands Lu Wei, the gatekeeper of China’s Internet and the face of Xi Jinping’s cybersecurity committee.Lu cites the success of China’s “Great Firewall” and current Internet policies as instrumental to the rise of Internet giants such as Alibaba. Lu emphasises that domestic Internet controls are a sovereign issue. And yet in apparent contradiction, Lu preaches for a multistakeholder, democratic and transparent international Internet governance system. Make no mistake: Lu is pushing for China to have a greater say and stake in international Internet development. And China’s contradictions are not about to disappear or become any less confronting.

Open, Yet Closed: The China Internet Paradox

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Mario Go MONTEJO Secretary of Department of Science & Technology (DOST), &

Louis CASAMBREUndersecretary of DOST , Executive Director ICT Office

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Life-Saving ICTs for Development

Mario Go Montejo and Louis Casambre are employing technology to save and improve lives across the Philippines, and provide a vision for how these developments can be deployed regionally and globally.Montejo has led the policy push in making disaster risk reduction and preparedness technology-based and smarter in the Philippines. This is resulting in lives saved, and business and livelihood continuity enabled in one of the most disaster-plagued countries in the world. Montejo’s early warning and real-time monitoring system for monsoons, NOAH, successfully evacuated people ahead of severe flooding (and won multiple prestigious international awards). In 2015, he will push to put in more advanced, cutting edge systems that map existing hazards and predict impending disasters. Casambre continues the push to utilise smart new spectrum-based technology solutions such as TV White Spaces on the map. Casambre rejuvenated the Philippines’ free Wi-Fi plan, which will give much needed access to Internet in public spaces such as schools and government buildings nationwide, employing the use of TV White Spaces for last mile connectivity.

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David NGCEO of gumi Asia

Playing Internationally

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Ng put Singapore on the global map in gaming development with internationally recognized titles such as Puzzle Trooper, Slot Reel Frontier, and the English version of Brave Frontier. Over three years Ng rapidly built development teams in Singapore, Taipei and Jakarta. And although gumi Asia was created as a subsidiary of gumi Japan, under Ng’s leadership it has developed into a model for growing a base to create and localize international quality mobile games for the global market. With an eye toward international growth, Ng will partner with more publishers to localize and develop games, concentrating not merely on the language and culture, but also paying attention to the diversity of handsets with different screen sizes and graphics capabilities.

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NGUYEN Manh HungDirector of Viettel

The Soul of Viettel

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The newly promoted director of Viettel is recognized in the media as the ‘soul’ of Viettel Corp as well as the industry, and has brought affordable mobile handsets and Internet connections to consumers. Nguyen successfully transformed Viettel from a domestic company into an international one and targets non-traditional markets and consumers at the bottom of the pyramid.Some 90% of Viettel’s handsets are manufactured for overseas consumption, and the consumer profile includes farmers, fishermen, and other low income consumers in Laos, Mozambique, Haiti, and other African countries.Viettel’s bold requests to the government to aid its expansion overseas have been well received and Nguyen will be continuing his investments in Peru, East Timor, Haiti, Tanzania, Cameron, Laos, and Cambodia in 2015 as main markets for telecoms investments.

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Amit RANJANHead of Govt’s New Open-source Organisation

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Heading a New Age of Govt Technopreneurs

As China’s economic growth has slowed, many analysts and commentators are looking to India to be one of the key beacons of growth, particularly in IT spend. Amit Ranjan represents the new face of the Modi government amidst the ambitious plans for Digital India. Ranjan will head the new open-source organisation to create a ‘GitHub-like’ platform for a repository of open-source apps and software for government associations. As the co-founder of SlideShare, Ranjan has already tasted success, and will be looking to his Silicon Valley connections to pull in exciting people, spark innovation, and develop this new initiative. As such, Ranjan has a real opportunity to lead India’s charge and finally develop a true ‘national champion’.

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Tri RISMAHARINIMayor of Surabaya

Leading Good Governance and Free Education in Surabaya

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The first directly elected female mayor in this deeply Islamic city, Ibu Risma has been named by Forbes Indonesia as one of the ten most inspiring women 2013, and is up for Mayor of the Year 2014.A hands-on mayor focused on education as a priority, and who has made education free up to secondary school, wherein the final three years of school had been prohibitively expensive for the city's poorer families. This will set Surabaya up well to be a source of educated and skilled workforce in the future.Local government trustworthiness and professionalism are also seen to have improved with her implementation of simplified permit procedures and stricter governance. Ibu Risma travels widely across Asia and Europe to learn from various smart city developments and, as a result, Surabaya has attracted numerous well-known foreign companies, including Yakult (JP), Unicharm (JP), Swing (KR), Cargill (USA) and Unilever (Netherlands/UK).Under her watch, Surabaya has transformed from a neglected, gritty port city to winning the ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City Award 2012, and the Adipura Kencana, the highest environmental award in Indonesia. Surabaya was also named APAC city with the best public participation.With many cities outside of Jakarta rapidly expanding and vying for FDI in smart cities and urban tech planning, Ibu Risma – with her education policy focus and international connections – will be a central figure in unlocking Surabaya’s future as the new nexus for maritime trade, and city/urban technology.

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Smart Nation Programme OfficeHead: TAN Kok Yam

Cyber Security Agency of SingaporeChief Executive (Designate): David KOH

ICT: Busting Bureaucratic Silos

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The Smart Nation Programme Office and the Cyber Security Agency Singapore both represent a new breed of cross-agency offices falling under the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), formed to coordinate and communicate across traditional bureaucratic silos.These offices under the PMO exemplify a new model for other countries to co-opt for their own coordination needs.These agencies have developed in response to a rapidly-changing ICT policy environment, which demands that the public sector evolve and improve response times to sudden threats or opportunities. The Smart Nation Programme Office’s task is to ensure that technology is developed and deployed in a concerted, integrated manner to improve quality of life, create economic opportunities and strengthen communities. The Office will work across agencies and also seek opportunities for co-creation with the private sector and the public. The initiatives under Smart Nation will cover transport, the home and environment and government digital services. The CSA aims to provide dedicated and centralised oversight of national cyber security functions. It will take over and build upon the functions of the Singapore Infocomm Technology Security Authority (SITSA) and some roles of the IDA. Minister for Communications and Information Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim will be appointed as the Minister-in-charge of Cyber Security.

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Masayoshi SONFounder and CEO of SoftBank

Rising Son in Japan’s SoftBank

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Masayoshi Son is a perennial favourite for Westerns pointing to the potential for a new more outward-looking perspective from the large Japanese enterprise elite. Given this, why would we point to Son-san once again as the potential harbinger for change? Son is leading the charge and laying big bets on a new foundation for a Japanese global business revival. Simply because of the enormous spending spree that he has been on and how much it dovetails with some of the trends – in cloud computing, in devices and services, and in areas such as mobile payments – that we can see emerging more broadly. SoftBank’s international spending spree? 30% of Snapdeal, 30% of Housing.com and 36.5% of ScoopWhoop (India), Korea’s DramaFever.com, 51% of Finland’s SuperCell Oy, 57% of Brightstar and 80% of Sprint (US); also: USD100 million each into Indonesia’s Tokopedia, and South Korea’s Coupang and USD250 million into Malaysia’s GrabTaxi – the last three of which all recast those sectors because of the size of the investment.

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TRUONG Gia BinhChairman and Co-Founder of FPT

Next Breed of Vietnam: ICT?

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A pioneer of Vietnam’s software industry, Truong took the unprecedented step in Vietnam of establishing the FPT ICT University in a bid to train and nurture a next generation of ICT personnel, and thereby break through the bottleneck lack of skilled ICT professionals facing Vietnam.In support, the government endorsed and certified the first private university in Ho Chi Minh City. Truong is looking to mold a new capable workforce, not only to help fuel his company’s ambitions of driving Big Data and cloud in Vietnam, and becoming a Top 500 Forbes Global Company, but to more broadly create the necessary ecosystem for inspiring innovation and growth in Vietnam in the short and medium term. Truong stands out for this step of creating a university from a business background to address Vietnam’s skilled labor shortage, and thereby paying it forward.

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Malcolm TURNBULLMinister of Communications

Steering Through Contentious Debates

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Minister Turnbull took office with Australia’s new government in Sep 2013, and has moved Australia’s stalled National Broadband Network to a multi technology mix rollout, so that it will be delivered years sooner and at almost AUD30 billion less cost. He has overseen a series of important reviews and policy reformulations, including on copyright and mandatory data retention, in which the government will be attempting to balance an open and thriving digital economy while also maintaining adequate national security safeguards and copyright protection.Because these debates in Australia are comparatively well-informed and articulate on both sides, particularly on contentious issues, they can have a larger than anticipated impact on other Asian economies. Thus, with Australia continuing to act as a trendsetter in addressing and discussing ICT policies that will percolate the region in the next 12-36 months, Turnbull will stand at the centre of many of these debates.

Joshua WONGStudent Activist

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Democratic Social Media TsunamiWong was instrumental in leading protests in pursuit of universal suffrage on the street and driving the social media tsunami that swamped Hong Kong politics in 2014.Several important developments resulted:

The Faustian bargain that the business (and foreign) community makes in Hong Kong not only came starkly to light, but was called into question. Good commercial relations with China are necessary for the business community to succeed, but at what cost? The mass adoption of encrypted P2P app FireChat, allowing participants (and dissidents) to communicate without an Internet connection or mobile network, and to communicate without fear of eavesdropping.

Whether protestors for universal suffrage get their second wind in 2015, 18-year old Wong will continue to play a leading role. More importantly, having been brought into question, the genie isn’t going back in the bottle and Wong will continue to be the face of the confrontation with China. Businesses will need to keep a close eye on Wong and his comrades and the situation in 2015 as they assess their involvement and investments in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong’s relationship with China.

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TRPC Pte Ltd is a boutique consulting firm which focuses on the economics of telecommunications and information technology, particularly the policy and regulatory issues associated with national information infrastructure development, with an emphasis on the Asia Pacific region.

For more information on previous work we’ve done, you may visit our website www.trpc.biz or email us at info@trpc.biz.