China’s dominance isn’t science fiction anymore, just look at Indonesia

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In today’s newsletter, we look at:

• How China took the lead in Indonesia’s EV race
• M Village, Vietnam’s new proptech star, must pass scaling challenge
  
• What old sci-fi books and movies can teach us about today’s technology

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Hello there,

The first science fiction novel that I ever loved has almost no science fiction in it.

Instead, A Canticle for Leibowitz, written by Walter M. Miller Jr., tells the story of a world desperately trying to retain what little technology it has left after a global nuclear war. It deals repeatedly with the theme of mankind’s inability to handle new technology.

Like a lot of older science fiction, Canticle is becoming almost as relevant today as it was when it was published in 1959. At the time – squarely within the Cold War – concerns were rising over the perceived might of the USSR’s missile arsenal over the US’.

A number of older science fiction shows are also finding new relevance today. Firefly from 2002 is set in a world where China and the US merged after becoming the world’s top two superpowers.

China’s rising dominance is highlighted in this week’s first Big Story: How China took the lead in Indonesia’s EV race. As a line in Firefly goes: “This is so da bianhua.”

Image credit: Made by Tech in Asia using Midjourney

In just the first six months of this year, the sales of Chinese EV makers outstripped those of British automobile makers by 8x, our report notes. While Japanese car companies had a grip over Indonesia’s automobile industry, they seem to be losing the race to China.

In the second Big Story, Huong, my colleague in Vietnam, writes about M Village, Vietnam’s new proptech star, which is trying to differentiate itself with flexible accommodation options.

OK, it isn’t Altered Carbon’s AI-run Ravel Hotel, but maybe with its recent funding, things will be moving in that direction. M Village has raised about US$4 million in disclosed funding, with an undisclosed series B round also confirmed.

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