Photo: Bloomberg
Quoteworthy: "Get a shot, have a beer." - US president Joe Biden extolling Americans to get vaccinated. Among the perks offered was free beer from Anheuser-Busch.
Huawei unveils new software to overcome Trump blacklist
Huawei Technologies unveiled long-awaited details of its HarmonyOS software, the operating system intended to take a central role in a consumer electronics market dominated by Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS.
HarmonyOS has been designed to work across smartphones, appliances and other hardware, combining the capabilities of all connected gadgets for what Huawei calls “super device” utility. The company demonstrated multi-device functionality as part of its HarmonyOS showcase and said it plans to build its new platform into a hub that connects a wide spectrum of hardware from earbuds to smart cars.
Huawei introduced a number of smartphones, smartwatches and tablets running the 2.0 version of the HarmonyOS at an online event on Wednesday, June 2. The company said nearly 100 of its own devices will be able to upgrade to the latest system in China.
The Shenzhen-based telecom gear maker is looking to the Internet of Things (IoT) as a path to competing with Apple and Alphabet’s Google. Development of HarmonyOS dates back to 2016, but was accelerated after Washington blacklisted Huawei, cutting it off from essential mobile chipsets and key Google services. With Android and iOS already entrenched in their dominance over the smartphone landscape, Huawei’s aim is to be best at linking interconnected electronic devices and accessories.
“Like other industries, the mobile internet industry built on top of smartphones is set to saturate,” said Wang Chenglu, president of software at Huawei’s consumer business group. “The day when Huawei started to develop Harmony, we decided it will not be another Android or iOS because that wouldn’t bring value to our customers and app developers.”
Huawei introduced a number of gadgets running the in-house HarmonyOS, promising the operating system will allow the devices to share data and even computing power so users can receive consistent service — across both Huawei and third-party devices.
“Huawei’s announcements reflect its need to pivot away from a reliance on smartphones to other hardware categories,” said Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight. “Many of these devices are able to use WiFi rather than a cellular connection, making it easier to get around the sanctions related to 5G chips.”
The company reported a 17% decline in sales in the first three months of this year, the second straight quarterly drop after years of prodigious growth fuelled by its smartphone division. After sanctions hit, the company was forced to seek new cash cows from an array of emerging businesses including smart mining, renewable energy and electric vehicles.
The Harmony project is Huawei’s big bet in the consumer market. Worldwide demand for smart home devices, such as smart speakers, video entertainment products and smart locks, is expected to balloon in the coming years with China becoming the largest market before 2025, according to research firm IDC. Consumer enthusiasm for wearables is also gaining momentum, a separate IDC report showed.
User adoption in the early years will be a key gauge for the potential of HarmonyOS, as app developers and hardware vendors are typically reluctant to invest in an unproven new platform. Samsung Electronics’s Tizen and Microsoft’s mobile OS efforts have both petered out as rivals to the big two after failing to get traction.
But Huawei’s IoT ambition is set to face fierce competition at home in China, where Apple enjoys a loyal user base at the premium tier even with many of its add-on services unavailable. Local vendor Xiaomi is also rapidly expanding its own IoT ecosystem with deeply-tailored Android offerings.
Wang expects HarmonyOS to power around 200 million Huawei smartphones in China before 2022. Another 100 million devices, such as projectors and smart speakers made by third-party vendors, will also install the new OS by the end of this year.
“That should give us a solid foundation to start from,” Wang said, adding that the development and operation cost for HarmonyOS app creators will be a fraction of the cost of traditional mobile platforms. — Bloomberg
MOH to allow Sinovac vaccine to be used following WHO emergency approval
Singapore will allow the use of Sinovac Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine after the World Health Organisation (WHO) approved the drug as part of its emergency use listing.
The move means the drug can be administered by private healthcare providers as part of a programme that allows the use of unregistered Covid-19 vaccines, the Ministry of Health said in a statement on June 2. The Sinovac vaccine is not part of the national vaccine programme.
The WHO authorised the Sinovac vaccine on June 1, paving the way for a wider rollout in countries scrambling for a supply of immunisations. Singapore’s decision comes about three months after the country received its first shipment of 200,000 doses of the Sinovac shot on Feb 23, and amid debate over the efficacy of the vaccine.
The shot, dubbed CoronaVac, has the lowest efficacy rate reported from clinical trials among the frontrunner wave of vaccines: it was found to be just 50.7% effective in preventing symptomatic Covid in a trial in Brazil, barely crossing the minimum threshold required by drug regulators around the world. But real-world evidence is emerging that it is far more effective on the ground: In a recent study of around 130,000 Indonesian health workers, it protected 94% against symptomatic infection, 96% against hospitalisation, and 98% against death.
Singapore has authorised both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, and has one of the best per-capita vaccination rates in Asia, with about 40% of the population having received their first dose. The Southeast Asian nation is allowing school children to be inoculated from this month, as part of its strategy to reopen the economy.
The health ministry will release more details in the coming days and is also studying the possibility for private healthcare institutions to access the stock of 200,000 doses. It is working out the details on pricing, informed consent process and safety of the patients who prefer this vaccine, it said. — Bloomberg
Malaysia gets Deloitte’s US$80 million 1MDB settlement payout
Malaysia received US$80 million ($106 million) from Deloitte in settlement over the firm’s audit of 1MDB and its former unit SRC International between 2011–2014, and the finance ministry said it is in negotiations with KPMG, another former 1MDB auditor.
The government also expects to get RM2.83 billion ($906 million) from local lender AMMB Holdings soon, the ministry said in a statement on June 3. The settlements with Deloitte and AMMB were announced earlier this year.
The money recovered from Deloitte was deposited into Malaysia’s Assets Recovery Trust Account, which has received RM16.386 billion of seized and repatriated funds. The money will be used mainly to repay 1MDB’s debts, the ministry said.
“The current balance is sufficient to service 1MDB’s debt obligations for 2021 and 2022 only,” Finance Minister Zafrul Abdul Aziz said in the statement. “Once all recovered funds in the Trust Account have been utilised, the government will still have to continue bearing the burden of servicing 1MDB’s debt obligations.”
Last month, 1MDB and SRC filed civil suits against companies including JPMorgan Chase & Co and Deutsche Bank to recover assets worth more than US$23 billion that the government says are linked to the fund.
The 22 suits are the latest twist in Malaysia’s continuing efforts to recover billions of dollars allegedly siphoned from 1MDB by people connected to the country’s former prime minister.
The 1MDB scam set off investigations in Asia, the US and Europe, and led to the historic change in government in 2018. Goldman Sachs Group last year admitted its role in the biggest foreign bribery case in US enforcement history, reaching multiple international settlements in the billions of dollars to end probes into its fundraising for 1MDB.
Malaysia has repaid RM12.54 billion of 1MDB’s debt and RM3.1 billion of SRC’s debt. The outstanding debt totals RM39.66 billion for 1MDB and RM2.57 billion for SRC, the finance ministry said on June 3. — Bloomberg
