MAYASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK9Apple announced that it would establish its first online store in Vietnam the following week, as the iPhone maker doubles down on emerging markets to fuel growth in the face of declining sales in China.The inauguration comes only a few weeks after the Cupertino, California-based corporation built its first Apple stores in India, in Mumbai and Delhi. In 2020, Apple launched its first online store in India.Apple CEO Tim Cook believes that emerging markets, which have younger populations and fewer iPhones, will provide more opportunities for growth.Apple has not stated when it intends to create physical stores in Vietnam, a country with a population of 100 million people."We're proud to be expanding in Vietnam," said Deirdre O'Brien, Apple's senior vice president of retail.Online stores frequently open before physical stores. Apple already sells devices in Vietnam via licensed merchants and has many suppliers that build its gadgets in the nation for export. NEWSROOMAPPLE OPENS FIRST ONLINE STORE IN VIETNAM IN ITS JOURNEY TO PUSH INTO EMERGING MARKETSHanh Do believes this is the "golden time" to start a company to fight plastic pollution, which has become one of the biggest global crises."Governments around the world are issuing bans on single-use plastics and mandating a shift to bioplastics and recycled plastics," she told. "Most major corporates are also phasing out plastics in their supply chains."Last year, Do left her corporate job to found Buyo, which aims to convert biowaste and plant-based materials into biodegradable plastics.While most bioplastic firms use starch, Buyo said its proprietary tech converts biowaste from agriculture and food materials into bioplastic, which simultaneously helps eliminate greenhouse gas emissions and water contamination.The startup has recently raised an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding in a round led by Singapore-based family office Aldebaran Capital.Do said the new funding will be used to build a pilot scale production site in Vietnam first before targeting markets in Europe and North America. The company has also filed a patent and is working to obtain international testing certificates. GREEN STARTUP BUYO RAISES CAPITAL IN PRE-SEED FUNDING BY ALDERBAN CAPITAL
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