Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Huawei launches $40M Singapore centre

Huawei launches $40M Singapore centre

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
The Singapore DigiX Lab is Huawei’s second one in the world. THE STRAITS TIMES

Huawei launches $40M Singapore centre

Chinese phone maker Huawei on February 23 launched a $40 million regional centre in Singapore – its first in the Asia-Pacific – that lets developers test apps and services for its mobile devices.

The centre, dubbed a “DigiX Lab”, will provide online and offline consultation for developers, and hands-on support in app development using augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence (AI), software to port apps to Huawei devices, and other technologies.

The launch comes amid a US ban on Huawei since May 2019 that limits its ability to use US tech giant Google’s services and apps, like the Google Play app store, for its products. This prompted the Chinese firm to further develop its own version called Huawei Mobile Services (HMS).

And despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Huawei also expanded its HMS team in Singapore by threefold in the last year, which includes operations, marketing and technical staff to support Singapore app developers.

The company said the lab in Changi Business Park “leverages Singapore’s importance as a growing technological hub in the Asia-Pacific” to boost the mobile ecosystem throughout the region.

Huawei Consumer Cloud Service Asia-Pacific director Shan Xuefeng said: “In the era of 5G, Huawei aims to build [a connected world] with HMS that empowers developers to innovate as they build their business.”

HMS has been around for years and has its own app store called AppGallery that was launched in China in 2011 and globally in 2018.

The Singapore DigiX Lab is Huawei’s second one in the world. The first was launched in Germany and six others are in the pipeline, said the company.

The Singapore lab serves markets with the most registered Huawei developers in the Asia-Pacific, such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

Huawei will spend $40 million on the lab over two to three years.

It spans 289sqm, or slightly larger than three four-room Housing Board flats, and has space for 70 people.

Huawei’s experts staffing it will provide technical support and services for developers facing problems when developing apps for HMS.

Training, workshops and networking events will also be held in the lab to grow the local developer community.

There have been concerns that being shut out of Google apps and services would mean much fewer apps for Huawei phones. But the company said it has grown the number of apps for HMS, with more than 120,000 apps as at the end of last year, up from over 50,000 at the beginning of 2020.

The firm said that in Singapore, there was also a 143 per cent growth in the number of newly registered Huawei developers, with over 90 per cent of the top Singapore apps now compatible with HMS.

These include WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, Line and Dropbox.

Local apps include those for TraceTogether, ComfortDelGro, DBS, UOB, The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao. The latest addition at the end of last month was the Grab app. The government’s SingPass app will soon be available in the early half of this year.

While they work with Huawei devices, some like WhatsApp can only be downloaded from other sites and not directly from AppGallery yet.

The number of HMS users has also grown. In February last year, there were more than 570 million users globally across 170 countries and regions. At the end of last December, the figure had grown to 700 million users.

Other ways Huawei is supporting developers beyond the DigiX Labs include setting up technical teams in key Asia-Pacific markets from last year to help app developers concerned with costs to port an app for HMS and jitters over its potential market reach.

Besides technical assistance, Huawei’s HMS team has also supported app partners by tailoring co-marketing campaigns based on the app’s unique selling points and local preferences.

THE STRAITS TIMES (SINGAPORE)/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

MOST VIEWED

  • Ministry orders all schools, public and private, to close for SEA Games

    From April 20 to May 18, all public and private educational institutions will be closed to maintain order and support Cambodia's hosting of the 32nd SEA Games and 12th ASEAN Para Games, said a directive from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport. Cambodia will host the

  • Almost 9K tourists see equinox sunrise at Angkor Wat

    Nearly 9,000 visitors – including 2,226 international tourists – gathered at Angkor Wat on March 21 to view the spring equinox sunrise, according to a senior official of the Siem Reap provinical tourism department. Ngov Seng Kak, director of the department, said a total of 8,726 people visited Angkor Wat to

  • Angkor Beer strengthens national pride with golden new look and fresher taste

    Angkor Beer – the "Gold of Angkor" – has a new look, one that is more stylish and carries a premium appeal, as well as a fresher taste and smoother flavour, making it the perfect choice for any gathering. Angkor Beer recently launched its new design, one

  • PM urges end to ‘baseless’ international Ream base accusations

    Prime Minister Hun Sen urges an end to “baseless” foreign accusations surrounding the development of the Kingdom’s Ream Naval Base, as the US has consistently suggested that the base is being expanded to accommodate a Chinese military presence. Hun Sen renewed his calls while

  • Khmer ballet documentary debuts April 1

    A new documentary, The Perfect Motion, or Tep Hattha in Khmer, will premiere to the public on April 1. The documentary film follows two intertwined storylines: the creation of a show called Metamorphosis by the late Princess Norodom Buppha Devi (her very last production) and the

  • Water supply authority assures public shortages over early ‘24

    The Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) asked for understanding from Phnom Penh residents in some communes where water pressure is weak. They assured residents that all supply issues will be resolved by early 2024, but have suggested that residents use water sparingly in the meantime.