Asian Legal Review

OpenAI has announced a major partnership with the Singapore government to establish its first Applied AI Lab outside the United States, committing over S$300 million (approximately US$218 million) as part of a new initiative called OpenAI for Singapore.

Announced at the ATx Summit, the partnership was formalized with the Ministry of Digital Development and Information and aligns with Singapore’s National AI Strategy. The programme focuses on three core objectives: helping organizations adopt advanced AI technologies, building local AI talent, and widening access to AI tools across the economy.

The new Applied AI Lab will create more than 200 technical roles in Singapore over the coming years. Singapore will also serve as one of OpenAI’s global hubs for its Forward-Deployed Engineers, who work directly with companies to apply AI to real-world business and operational challenges.

The lab will support projects aligned with Singapore’s AI Mission priorities, including public service, finance, healthcare, and digital infrastructure. Denise Dresser, Chief Revenue Officer at OpenAI, said: “We’re excited to partner with Singapore as it builds on its position as a global leader in AI. Singapore has strong technical talent, trusted institutions, and a clear ambition to use AI to drive long-term growth and improve people’s lives.”

Beyond the lab itself, the initiative includes educational programmes developed in partnership with Singapore’s Ministry of Education and GovTech, focusing on AI-enabled learning tools including support for Mother Tongue language learning. OpenAI will also support educators through a Singapore chapter of the OpenAI Academy and Codex for Teachers hackathons.

The company plans to launch a Forward-Deployed Engineer training programme and participate in the National AI Impact Programme, using its Codex language model to deepen AI capabilities across Singapore’s technology workforce. OpenAI will also explore accelerator programmes for AI-native startups and workshops for micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses.

This marks a significant development in cross-border AI regulation and governance, as Singapore positions itself as the primary Southeast Asian hub for frontier AI research and deployment. The move follows increased regulatory scrutiny of AI applications in the banking and financial services sectors across ASEAN, including MAS’s principles-based approach to AI in financial services.

The partnership comes at a time when competing jurisdictions are racing to attract leading AI companies while establishing regulatory frameworks that balance innovation with consumer protection. Singapore’s government-backed model, combining substantial financial commitment with clear regulatory pathways, may prove influential in shaping how other ASEAN nations approach frontier AI governance.

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Thailand has granted its first virtual bank operating licence to the Clicx bank consortium, paving the way for the country’s first digital-only banking institution under the Bank of Thailand’s newly adopted virtual banking framework.

According to Fintech News Singapore, the Bank of Thailand granted the licence on 14 May 2026, making Clicx the first approved virtual bank applicant in the country to secure an operating licence. The finance minister also approved commercial banking and regulated payment services for the entity, which is backed by Krungthai Bank, Advanced Info Service (AIS), and PTT Oil and Retail Business (the “OR” unit of the state-owned PTT Group) in a consortium that brings together banking, telecommunications, and energy retail expertise.

Clicx plans to serve underserved customers with irregular income or limited traditional financial records, including gig workers, small merchants, new workers, and other financially excluded segments. The bank will rely on artificial intelligence and non-traditional data sources to assess customer creditworthiness, incorporating data linked to everyday behaviour and service usage. This marks a significant departure from conventional collateral-based lending models that have long excluded large swathes of the Thai population from formal financial services.

Thailand approved three virtual bank applications in June 2025: the ACM Holding consortium, the Krungthai-AIS-OR consortium, and the SCB X-WEBANK-KakaoBank consortium. The regulator has allowed additional time for setup beyond the original one-year timeline, with Bank of Thailand Governor Vitai Ratanakorn indicating that at least two virtual banks should begin operations by the end of 2026. Clicx plans to launch services next month. Its approval marks a decisive progression in Thailand’s ambition to deepen financial inclusion through digital banking innovation, while establishing key precedents for AI-driven underwriting and alternative credit scoring in Southeast Asia.

Indonesia Urges ASEAN to Seal Digital Trade Deal Amid Rising Protectionism

By Asian Legal Review Staff | May 20, 2026

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has urged Southeast Asian nations to fast-track the completion of the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), calling the landmark regional pact critical to sustaining growth amid global economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and rising protectionism.

Speaking before business leaders during the Indonesia-Philippines business forum held in Lapu-Lapu City on May 7, 2026, Hartarto stressed that ASEAN must move quickly to finalize the agreement during the Philippines’ leadership of the regional bloc, warning that prolonged negotiations could delay opportunities in one of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy. “The whole world is looking at DEFA,” Hartarto said, noting that negotiations have already gone through around 20 rounds since discussions began under Indonesia’s ASEAN chairmanship in 2023. “We don’t need perfection, but we need to move on.”

The proposed agreement aims to establish a common framework for digital trade, electronic commerce, digital payments, data governance and other areas of the digital economy across the 10-member ASEAN bloc. Analysts say the deal could help harmonize digital regulations across Southeast Asia, lower business costs and accelerate cross-border investments, particularly in fintech, e-commerce, cloud computing and digital infrastructure. Hartarto described DEFA as the region’s response to growing economic risks including energy price volatility, food security concerns and global trade tensions. “This is the economy of the younger generation. This is the economy that is not prone to tariff war,” he said.

The Indonesian minister also revealed that Jakarta had already resolved its issues related to the agreement and called on other ASEAN members to compromise to complete negotiations. “We can always evaluate implementation for every country,” he said, adding that no single nation should dictate how others implement digital policies. Beyond digital cooperation, Hartarto pushed for stronger collaboration between Indonesia and the Philippines in nickel processing, special economic zones, agriculture and fertilizer supply as both nations seek to strengthen regional supply chains.

Source: SunStar Publishing Inc., “Indonesia urges ASEAN to seal digital trade deal” (May 19, 2026).

Indonesia Urges ASEAN to Seal Digital Trade Deal Amid Rising Protectionism

By Asian Legal Review Staff | May 20, 2026

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has urged Southeast Asian nations to fast-track the completion of the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), calling the landmark regional pact critical to sustaining growth amid global economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and rising protectionism.

Speaking before business leaders during the Indonesia-Philippines business forum held in Lapu-Lapu City on May 7, 2026, Hartarto stressed that ASEAN must move quickly to finalize the agreement during the Philippines’ leadership of the regional bloc, warning that prolonged negotiations could delay opportunities in one of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy. “The whole world is looking at DEFA,” Hartarto said, noting that negotiations have already gone through around 20 rounds since discussions began under Indonesia’s ASEAN chairmanship in 2023. “We don’t need perfection, but we need to move on.”

The proposed agreement aims to establish a common framework for digital trade, electronic commerce, digital payments, data governance and other areas of the digital economy across the 10-member ASEAN bloc. Analysts say the deal could help harmonize digital regulations across Southeast Asia, lower business costs and accelerate cross-border investments, particularly in fintech, e-commerce, cloud computing and digital infrastructure. Hartarto described DEFA as the region’s response to growing economic risks including energy price volatility, food security concerns and global trade tensions. “This is the economy of the younger generation. This is the economy that is not prone to tariff war,” he said.

The Indonesian minister also revealed that Jakarta had already resolved its issues related to the agreement and called on other ASEAN members to compromise to complete negotiations. “We can always evaluate implementation for every country,” he said, adding that no single nation should dictate how others implement digital policies. Beyond digital cooperation, Hartarto pushed for stronger collaboration between Indonesia and the Philippines in nickel processing, special economic zones, agriculture and fertilizer supply as both nations seek to strengthen regional supply chains. He also highlighted opportunities for closer bilateral cooperation in digital infrastructure, particularly in Mindanao, where Indonesia is developing a fiber optic landing station in Manado.

Source: SunStar Publishing Inc., “Indonesia urges ASEAN to seal digital trade deal” (May 19, 2026).

Singapore’s Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has revoked the payment services licence of Bsquared Technology Private Limited, marking a significant enforcement action in the city-state’s fintech regulatory landscape.

According to Fintech News Singapore, which published the report on May 20, 2026, the regulator cited “serious breaches” in its decision to strip the payments firm of its operating licence. The Revocation Notice, issued under the Payment Services Act (PSA), indicates that Bsquared Technology failed to meet mandatory compliance and operational standards required of licensed payment institutions in Singapore.

By revoking the licence, MAS has effectively halted Bsquared Technology’s ability to conduct any regulated payment activities in Singapore, including domestic and cross-border money transmission, issuance of digital payment tokens, and other payment services under the PSA framework. Entities operating without a valid payment services licence may face legal action, and customers of the firm should be alerted that their funds need to be recovered through the regulator’s enforcement process.

Regulatory enforcement actions like this signal MAS’s increasing vigilance in overseeing Singapore’s payments sector, which is one of the most active fintech ecosystems in ASEAN. The regulator has in recent years taken a firm but progressive stance on licensing and supervision, granting numerous payment institutions licences while simultaneously holding them to strict compliance standards. The revocation of Bsquared Technology’s licence underscores the stakes of regulatory non-compliance in Singapore’s tightly regulated financial centre.

This development is particularly noteworthy given Singapore’s role as the regional headquarters for numerous fintech firms and payment service providers operating across Southeast Asia. Industry observers will be watching closely to understand the specific compliance failures that prompted the regulator’s action, as it may set a precedent for how MAS oversees the payments sector going forward.

Source: Fintech News Singapore, May 20, 2026.

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