Dispatches from Rest of World: September 18

Here are this week's biggest stories in tech from the regions that we cover. For more exclusive content, sign up for Rest of World's weekly global newsletter.

Image source: YouTube is driving an astrology boom in Pakistan

Southeast Asia

Mystery surrounds a sudden raid and “surprise investigation” of Vietnamese tech firm VNG. Tencent-backed VNG’s businesses include online games, payments, cloud services, and the country’s most popular messaging app Zalo, which has more than 77 million users. VNG, Vietnam’s first unicorn, also has a cloud partnership with Nvidia and withdrew its U.S. IPO filing in January without an explanation. Several companies and business executives in Vietnam have been caught up in a wide-ranging corruption crackdown in recent years. — Rina Chandran in Bangkok

Latin America

Bluesky continues to grow as Brazil upholds its ban on X. Last week, after the platform surpassed 9 million users, it announced a new feature that allows people to post one-minute videos, report misleading content, and access improved translations. Brazilians who remain on X through a virtual private network face a $9,000 daily fine. The ban comes weeks before municipal elections in the nation, where X had a significant influence on politics. — Karla Zabludovsky from Mexico City

Africa

Nigeria’s tech minister Bosun Tijani launched a 100 million naira ($61,000) fund with Google to support AI startups in the country. The AI fund “is a critical step in taking advantage of future technologies to develop homegrown innovation that addresses local challenges, accelerates economic growth,” Tijani said on X. Some industry players pushed back, saying the money would be insufficient even for a single startup to do something substantial. For context, a single Nvidia AI chip, which is used to power data centers that train AI models, costs more than $61,000 in Nigeria. — dámiláre dòsùnmú in Abuja

China

Rest of World reporter Viola Zhou visited Las Vegas recently for an exclusive interview with Kuo Zhang, president of Alibaba.com. Chinese executives are known to stick to talking points, so it was surprising to hear Zhang address U.S.-China tensions, tech tariffs, and his confidence in Alibaba.com’s B2B business, no matter the outcome of the U.S. election. On Friday, the Biden administration announced it would limit a popular trade loophole used by Chinese retail giants like Temu and Shein to ship low-value parcels to the U.S. tax-free. While Alibaba.com’s bulk wholesale logistics are unaffected, the new regulations could impact AliExpress, Alibaba’s international shopping platform.?— Joanna Chiu from Vancouver

South Asia

For decades, Apple fans in India have had to pay more than buyers in other countries to get their hands on the latest versions of the iPhone. But that appears to be changing. The newly launched iPhone 16 Pro will cost less than its predecessor’s launch price in India as Apple passes on the benefits from reduced import duties and local manufacturing in the country. This reaffirms India’s importance for Apple, which has seen a decline in sales in most of its other markets. — Itika Sharma Punit from Warsaw