Asian Hub Research Articles

On the relationship between air connectivity and economic development: A comparative analysis of inequality evolution for 2000–2019

Throughout the past decades, aviation has experienced a tremendous growth of passenger and cargo demand. This growth may come with problems however, when considering the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations in 2015, particularly those related to the sustainable and fair use of resources and reduction of inequalities among countries. This study discusses the air connectivity inequalities of countries from various perspectives, covering topology-based and schedule-based connectivity indicators. We focus on the connectivity changes of countries between the years 2000 and 2019, i.e., before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicate that our aviation system is dominated by a few highly-developed countries in Western Europe and Northern America. While this dominance is gradually weakened, mainly due to the emergence of aviation hubs in the Middle East and the role of China as a hub in Asia, there need to be more efforts towards a homogeneous aviation infrastructure. Moreover, the flight connectivity between countries appears to be correlated to the Human Development Index growth value, but not significantly correlated with the potential travel demand between countries. Finally, detailed analysis on network-induced inequalities of connectivity reveal that countries are most unequally distributed concerning betweenness centrality but most equally according to closeness centrality. We believe that our study contributes towards a better understanding of sustainable aviation planning and raises important policy issues concerning the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.

Unlocking financial access in a developing country amidst COVID-19: the impacts of financial literacy and fintech

We examine the impacts of financial technology and financial literacy on the development of financial inclusion among the younger generation using data from a survey with 1288 students in Vietnam in the city and rural areas. We employ logistic regression and two-stage instrumental variable regression for our analysis, with location and financial shock caused by COVID-19 serving as the instruments. Vietnam is a fintech hub in Asia with the world-leading adaption of cryptocurrency and a significantly high rate of e-wallet use. The results indicate although there is a gap in access to financial services between urban and rural areas, the access rate is considerably high. Fintech and financial literacy play a significant role in facilitating this high level of financial inclusion development. Women have better access to financial services, showing the effectiveness of women’s empowerment programs. Little evidence shows the negative impact of the pandemic on financial inclusion.

Usefulness of aircraft and airport wastewater for monitoring multiple pathogens including SARS-CoV-2 variants.

As global travel resumed in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) endemicity, the potential of aircraft wastewater monitoring to provide early warning of disease trends for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants and other infectious diseases, particularly at international air travel hubs, was recognized. We therefore assessed and compared the feasibility of testing wastewater from inbound aircraft and airport terminals for 18 pathogens including SARS-CoV-2 in Singapore, a popular travel hub in Asia. Wastewater samples collected from inbound medium- and long-haul flights and airport terminals were tested for SARS-CoV-2. Next Generation Sequencing was carried out on positive samples to identify SARS-CoV-2 variants. Airport and aircraft samples were further tested for 17 other pathogens through quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The proportion of SARS-CoV-2-positive samples and the average virus load was higher for wastewater samples from aircraft as compared with airport terminals. Cross-correlation analyses indicated that viral load trends from airport wastewater led local COVID-19 case trends by 2-5 days. A total of 10 variants (44 sub-lineages) were successfully identified from aircraft wastewater and airport terminals, and four variants of interest and one variant under monitoring were detected in aircraft and airport wastewater 18-31days prior to detection in local clinical cases. The detection of five respiratory and four enteric viruses in aircraft wastewater samples further underscores the potential to expand aircraft wastewater to monitoring pathogens beyond SARS-CoV-2. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of aircraft wastewater testing for monitoring infectious diseases threats, potentially detecting signals before clinical cases are reported. The triangulation of similar datapoints from aircraft wastewater of international travel nodes could therefore serve as a useful early warning system for global health threats.

You must be myths-taken: Examining belief in falsehoods during the COVID-19 health crisis.

The prevalence of health myths is increasing with the rise of Internet use. Left unaddressed, online falsehoods can lead to harmful behaviours. In times of crisis, such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the circulation of many myths is exacerbated, often to varying degrees among different cultures. Singapore is a multicultural hub in Asia with Western and Asian influences. Although several studies have examined health myths from a Western or Eastern perspective, little research has investigated online health falsehoods in a population that is culturally exposed to both. Furthermore, most studies examined myths cross-sectionally instead of capturing trends in myth prevalence over time, particularly during crisis situations. Given these literature gaps, we investigated popular myths surrounding the recent COVID-19 pandemic within the multicultural setting of Singapore, by examining its general population. We further examined changes in myth beliefs over the two-year period during the pandemic, and population demographic differences in myth beliefs. Using randomised sampling, two online surveys of nationally representative samples of adults (aged 21-70 years) residing in Singapore were conducted, the first between October 2020 and February 2021 (N = 949), and the second between March and April 2022 (N = 1084). Results showed that 12.7% to 57.5% of the population were unable to identify various myths, such as COVID-19 was manmade, and that three of these myths persisted significantly over time (increases ranging from 3.9% to 9.8%). However, belief in myths varied across population demographics, with ethnic minorities (Indians and Malays), females, young adults and those with lower education levels being more susceptible to myths than their counterparts (p < 0.05). Our findings suggest that current debunking efforts are insufficient to effectively counter misinformation beliefs during health crises. Instead, a post-COVID-19 landscape will require targeted approaches aimed at vulnerable population sub-groups, that also focus on the erroneous beliefs with long staying power.

Reexamining the integrative approach to legal ethics education: the case of Hong Kong as an Asian financial centre

ABSTRACT This article examines how ethical values are integrated into legal education in Hong Kong, a prominent financial hub in Asia. It focuses on two aspects of integration: the integrative use of prescriptive and experiential teaching methods and the integration of legal ethics education into the curricula of law schools. Effective implementation of legal ethics education in Hong Kong faces challenges due to inadequate commitment to the integrative approach in law schools. While integrating legal ethics education into the curriculum alone is insufficient, there is also a lack of effective integration of prescriptive and experiential teaching methods. To address these needs and challenges, the article proposes a dedicated core course on legal ethics supported by seminars and workshops led by experienced practitioners. This approach aims to foster ethical conduct among law students, enhancing Hong Kong’s reputation as an Asian financial centre by cultivating a culture of ethical responsibility, which is vital for the development and sustainability of Hong Kong’s legal landscape.

Integrating business and market intelligence to expedite service responsiveness: evidence from Malaysia

In today’s business world, Malaysian postal and courier companies are rapidly growing due to recent Covid-19 but they face various challenges due to intense competition in the use of high-tech e-services. The paper examines the role of business and market intelligence in expediting service innovation and responsiveness in Malaysia, which is considered the business hub of Asia. Primary survey data were collected from the 93 managerial staff of postal and courier companies in Malaysia. We employed PLS-SEM methodology to test the relationship between the selected variables of interest. The results indicate that market intelligence and business intelligence are the major contributors to service innovation and service responsiveness. Moreover, the role of knowledge management is crucial in better utilization of external and internal knowledge. Finally, this study provides practical guidelines to practitioners and policymakers of postal and courier companies to devise viable strategies for efficiently realizing service innovation and service responsiveness to the best satisfaction of the end customers.

Measuring changes of Major Asian airportsʼ air connectivity and suggestions for improvement post COVID-19

This study measures the changes of the transit connectivity of ten major East Asian hub airports for the routes between Southeast Asia and North America from 2004 to 2023. According to the research results, Taiwan Taoyuan Airport has the best flight connection quality on transit routes between Southeast Asia and North America, while Tokyo Narita Airport has a higher number of feasible connecting flights than other airports. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a huge decline in the flight supply at Hong Kong and Chinese airports in North America and Southeast Asia routes. The traffic volume at Beijing Capital and Shanghai Pudong Airport dropped by 50%-80%, and Guangzhou Baiyun Airport has no direct flights to North America after 2022. Due to the impact of the Anti-Extradition Law Bill Movement, flights at Hong Kong Airport have dropped by more than 60%. In 2023, the number of feasible connecting flights at Taoyuan Airport has surpassed that of Hong Kong Airport and is not far from Incheon and Narita Airport. With the recovery of the aviation market post-pandemic, airports with fewer feasible connecting flights can actively resume or develop new routes, and airports with low transfer quality can further shorten the connecting time for transfer flights.

Japan energy mix and economic growth nexus: Focus on natural gas consumption

Japan's recent enunciation of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” policy aims to promote principles such as free trade, freedom of navigation, and encouraging economic prosperity with building commitment to stability and peace connecting the economic hub of Asia to Africa (MFA, 2019). Natural gas use continues to dominate Japan's energy mix despite efforts to improve environmental protection and attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Also, increasing production and investment typically leads to a better quality of life and more disposable income for the populace, which promotes economic growth. To this end, the study investigates the relationship between economic growth, trade openness, and natural gas consumption, as well as gross fixed capital formation and carbon dioxide emissions to overcome omitted variable problems to explore the natural gas-economic growth hypothesis in Japan over the period 1980–2020. Empirical results reveal a long-run relationship among the variables under consideration. By applying the Toda and Yamamoto approach to Granger causality testing, a two-sided causality running from CO2 and economic growth was revealed, while a one-sided causality from economic growth to natural gas consumption. This outcome suggests that the natural gas-economic growth hypothesis is not valid for Japan. According to these outcomes, policymakers in the energy sector should consciously diversify their energy portfolio in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Japan. Also, it is recommended that there should be a provision of access to skilled labor to increase productivity and export finished products to boost a nation's economy.

The Hub Competition in Delivering Air Connectivity between China and Oceania

Aviation hubs are pivotal intermediate nodes for connecting people around the world. However, there has been limited investigation on the competitive hub landscape in the China–Oceania market. Employing an updated Connectivity Utility Model, we examine the hub connections provided by hubs in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, other Asian countries and Oceania from quantity and quality dimensions between 1997 and 2019. The results indicate that the solid growth of mainland China and Oceania hubs suppress the development of Hong Kong and other Asian hubs. The major competitions of the mainland China and Oceanian hubs have shifted from competing with hubs outside their respective regions to competing with hubs within their regions, while the primary competitors of other Asian hubs have changed from competing with each other to competing with hubs outside their region. In the monopoly market, the Oceanian hubs have always enjoyed the greatest monopoly superiority. In the overlapping market, the dominance of Hong Kong and other Asian hubs in both the quantity and quality dimensions has been challenged by mainland China hubs. In a semiregulated operating environment shaped by China’s centralized government, the coordination between airlines, airports and governments is crucial for future hub construction.

The Sino-Peruvian relation and the construction of the official narrative of Peru as a hub management

This article discusses the driving forces behind the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Peru. Accordingly, the importance of bilateral cooperation in the development of Sino-Peruvian relations is being assessed. Given that the Chinese presence in Peru is an extended phenomenon, the article attempts to determine the extent of China’s influence on bilateral relations and its importance in building the official narrative of Peruvian decision-makers regarding the trans-Pacific image they aim to project in relation to China. For this reassion the article recurs to the productive notion of power, focusing on intangible elements mainly to enquire by the discursive constructions of the Peruvian technocrat agents and related practices embedded into the Sino-Peruvian relation −strongly led by the Asian country. The article concludes that the main topics of bilateral cooperation make it possible to single out four stages of China’s international policy towards Peru. Even though the Sino-Peruvian relation does not ground either can be explained exclusively on economic criteria or an institutional basis, the current associativity between both countries answer to the reciprocal knowledge triggered by migratory waves of the Chinese in moments of economic and political stress. At the same time, the discourses and narratives created by Peruvian technocrats acknowledge the country’s trans-Pacific identity; China’s weight in this identification is defining for the narrative of Peru as a bridge country in the 1990s and South America’s operational hub in Asia in the 21st century.

Toward a sustainable food system and agroecology transition in Vietnam

Even with the impressive results of agricultural growth and food security during last nearly 40 years of Renovation, the Vietnam Socio-economic Development Strategy for 2021-2030 seeks to accelerate agricultural restructuring and develop a modernity-oriented agriculture. Vietnam also aims to improve the resilience and adaptability of the agricultural sector against climate change, and to align this sector with the processing industry, markets, export activities, and global value chains. In 2021, Vietnam has actively contributed to United Nations Food System Summit (UNFSS) dialogue with more than 1000 participants involved in National Dialogues. Vietnam is willing to contribute to the transformation of global food systems as a food-providing country that upholds “transparency, responsibility, and sustainability”. This will serve to create comprehensive and sustainable breakthroughs for the entire system and will fulfill the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For the solution, Vietnam wishes to become a Food Innovation Hub of Asia. Vietnam has made digital transformation a key priority in the agricultural sector and has encouraged the application of digital technology to agricultural production and business activities. Vietnam’s food systems need to be transformed into green, sustainable, and low-emission agriculture and due attention should be given to agroecological production. Vietnam also commits to achieving nutrition security in 2030. A National Action Plan for a sustainable food system will be built.

Logistics strategy simulation of second-ranked ports on the basis of Japan’s port reforms: a case study of Hakata Port

ABSTRACT As a result of the port reforms in Japan, the Japanese government has intensively invested in physical infrastructure to maintain the trunk routes at selected and legally repositioned first rank strategic international ports under the Strategic International Container Port Policy. However, although central international ports, which are legally ranked second, have important roles to play in trade with Asia, it is difficult to expand the functions of these ports further without the development of strategic measures, given the government policies and accompanying budget constraints. This paper describes an examination of the feasibility of logistics strategies for a second-rank port to become a hub for Asia in Japan consistent with the current policy by using the global logistics intermodal network simulation, considering Hakata Port as a case study. The results show that Hakata Port has the potential to collect cargo from ports on the Japan Sea side and to launch shuttle services to Southeast Asia. The simulation results also suggest that cooperation with Kitakyushu Port, which is geographically close, is desirable. Approaches based on the characteristics of port governance in Japan are also presented.

Coopetition effects among global airline alliances for selected Asian airports

In a highly competitive environment, airlines tend to participate in global airline alliances (GAAs) to become more advantageous. This study employs IATA MarketIS data to examine the coopetition effects of three GAAs for ten selected airports. Each airport is a main gateway or hub in Asia with at least one based airline. The analysis in this paper focused on round-trip and transferred passengers for the international markets in 2018. The Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI) and Entropy Index (EI) were used to express the internal competition of round-trip markets for each GAA. A quartile separation with the calculation results of various traffic shares presented another coopetition status. These airports all had higher internal cooperation on transfer markets. Part of them appeared stronger internal competition on round-trip markets or external competition on transfer traffic. The airport-based airlines significantly developed home-ground advantages for their attributed GAAs.

Capturing Genetic Variability and Identification of Promising Drought-Tolerant Lines in Exotic Landrace Derived Population Under Reproductive Drought Stress in Rice.

Drought is one of the most predominant abiotic stresses in this century, leading to a drastic reduction in the yield of rainfed rice ecosystems. Breeding of drought-resilient rice varieties is very much in demand for sustainable rice production in drought-prone rainfed ecology. An experiment was designed under irrigated non-stress and drought-stress situations involving an exotic drought-tolerant landrace (Chao Khaw) and a high-yielding aromatic rice cultivar (Kasturi), and an F2:4 derived population of 156 breeding lines was developed at IRRI South Asia Hub, Hyderabad. The objective of the study was to assess the genetic variability, drought tolerance behavior, and identify promising breeding lines for different rice ecologies and drought breeding programs. Restricted maximum likelihood (REML) analysis using the mixed model approach revealed a considerable genetic variation in the population for yield and yield contributing traits in non-stress and drought-stress conditions. We observed very high heritability for all the selected traits under stress 2015 WS (73.8% to 85.3%) and 2016 WS (72.4% to 93.5%) and non-stress 2015 WS (68.2% To 92.9%) and 2016 WS (61.4% to 92.6%) environments, indicating possible selection for grain yield under drought stress and non-stress with the same precision level. None of the secondary traits except harvest index and biomass included in our study showed a positive association with grain yield, indicating indirect selection’s ineffectiveness in improving yield under drought. A total of 48 promising breeding lines were found to have a better yield than donor Chao Khaw (up to 38% advantage) and popular drought-tolerant cultivars Shabhagidhan (up to 48% advantage) in stress conditions and recommended for rainfed upland ecology, 34 breeding lines under the well-watered condition suited for rainfed lowland ecology. Overall, the study found 21 common breeding lines that showed their superiority in non-stress and under drought stress situations, fitting best in rainfed lowland ecology with occasional drought occurrence. The large genetic variation found in this population can be exploited further to develop a few forward breeding high-yielding lines with better drought tolerance ability and used as drought donors in drought breeding programs.

Editorial

Serving as editor for a journal like JITP provides many personalbenefits but none greater than the contact with so many bright andengaging scholars. When the journal is international, that benefit ismultiplied many times over. This issue of JITP represents workfrom scholars in three continents (Africa, Australia, and NorthAmerica). Our biannual leadership conference was held in HongKong, perhaps the most vital hub of Asia. Without question, theinternational aspect of invitational education is vibrant and visible.In today’s world, that is an important point to ponder. We are embroiledin a world that seems obsessed with our differences. Thosedifferences seem to be too frequently used to divide the world’speoples into suspicious and distrusting factions.

Ecological-Health Risk Assessments of Heavy Metals (Cu, Pb, and Zn) in Aquatic Sediments from the ASEAN-5 Emerging Developing Countries: A Review and Synthesis.

Simple SummaryThis study aimed to review and compile the concentrations of Cu, Pb, and Zn in the aquatic sediments of the ASEAN-5 countries published in the literature from 1981 to February 2021. The mean values of Cu, Pb, and Zn in aquatic sediments were found to be elevated and localized in high human activity sites in comparison to the earth’s upper continental crust and reference values. All reports (100%) showed the Zn ecological risk (ER) values were categorized as being between ‘low potential ER’ and ‘considerable potential ER’. Almost all Cu ER values (97.7%) showed similar ranges of the above two risk categories except for a few reports. Almost all reports (96%) showed Pb ER values categorized as between ‘low potential ER’ and ‘moderate potential ER’ except for a few reports. For the ingestion and dermal contact pathways for sediments, all non-carcinogenic risk (NCR) values for Cu, Pb, and Zn reflected no NCR. This provided evidence for the ASEAN-5 group of countries to be considered as being a new socio-economic corridor. Lastly, we claim that this study is currently the most up-to-date review on this topic in the literature.The ASEAN-5 countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, and Vietnam) of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as a group is an ever-increasing major economy developmental hub in Asia besides having wealthy natural resources. However, heavy metal (HM) pollution in the region is of increasing environmental and public concern. This study aimed to review and compile the concentrations of Cu, Pb, and Zn in the aquatic sediments of the ASEAN-5 countries published in the literature from 1981 to February 2021. The mean values of Cu, Pb, and Zn in aquatic sediments were elevated and localized in high human activity sites and compared to the earth’s upper continental crust and reference values. Based on 176 reports from 113 publications, the ranges of concentrations (mg/kg dry weight) were 0.09–3080 for Cu, 0.37–4950 for Zn, and 0.07–2666 for Pb. The ecological risk (ER) values ranged from 0.02–1077 for Cu, 0.01–95.2 for Zn, and 0.02–784 for Pb. All reports (100%) showed the Zn ER values were categorized as being between ‘low potential ecological risk’ and ‘considerable potential ecological risk’. Almost all Cu ER values (97.7%) also showed similar ranges of the above two risk categories except for a few reports. The highest Cu level (3080 mg/kg dry weight) was reported from a mine-tailing spill in Marinduque Island of the Philippines with ‘very high ecological risk’. In addition, drainage sediments in the western part of Peninsular Malaysia were categorized as Cu ’high potential ecological risk’. Almost all reports (96%) showed Pb ER values categorized as between ‘low potential ecological risk’ and ‘moderate potential ecological risk’ except for a few reports. Six reports showed Pb ER values of ‘considerable potential ecological risk’, while one report from Semarang (Indonesia) showed Pb ER of ‘very high ecological risk’ (Pb level of 2666 mg/kg dry weight). For the ingestion and dermal contact pathways for sediments from the ASEAN-5 countries, all non-carcinogenic risk (NCR) values (HI values 1.0) for Cu, Pb, and Zn reflected no NCR. The ER and human health risk assessment of Cu, Pb, and Zn were compared in an integrative and accurate manner after we reassessed the HM data mentioned in the literature. The synthesis carried out in this review provided the basis for us to consider Cu, Pb, and Zn as being of localized elevated levels. This provided evidence for the ASEAN-5 group of countries to be considered as being a new socio-economic corridor. Beyond any reasonable doubt, an ever-increasing anthropogenic input of HMs is to be expected to a certain degree. We believe that this paper provides the most fundamental useful baseline data for the future management and sustainable development of the aquatic ecosystems in the region. Lastly, we claim that this review is currently the most up-to-date review on this topic in the literature.

Usage of WeChat by International Students and Its Usefulness: Study Based in Wuhan University China

China has established as a significant learning hub in Asia, with a rising number of international students entering the country each year. Although WeChat is a popular social media platform among international students in China, a few studies have been conducted on how international students utilize Chinese social media. The study's objective is to investigate international students' use of WeChat and its educational value in mainland China. Data were gathered using a survey approach. Individuals studying at Wuhan University in China were chosen as the population sample. The University of Wuhan is a complete university spanning a range of specialized fields. It is one of the best universities with the particular achievement of education in china. Data collected from the office of the College of Foreign Students Education and General Administration office at Wuhan University shows that the intake of international and local students has been steadily increased in recent years. Therefore it is reasonable to select a sample for the research from Wuhan University. To determine what concern about when using social media by college students in a transnational environment, international students at Wuhan University were selected as a sample, and questionnaires were adapted to collect data. The questionnaire is designed for the international in the Wuhan University. The questionnaire is aimed to answer research objectives. Hence, the questionnaire is used as a research instrument to collect primary data. Despite the distribution of 250 (N) questionnaires to international students, only 216 (n) completed questionnaires were received from them. According to the survey, the four most appealing features to all international students are Payment facilities, mobile calling, built-in text conversion, and multi-modal messaging. Furthermore, the study found that WeChat has a lot of possibilities in academic contexts. The majority of students embraced the use of WeChat in teaching and learning to supplement classroom instruction, and they enthusiastically agreed with WeChat's social, technological, and pedagogical benefits. Finally, the paper discusses the WeChat usage behavior of international students, as well as its implications for improving educational value and recommendations for future research.

Protein Data Bank Japan: Celebrating our 20th anniversary during a global pandemic as the Asian hub of three dimensional macromolecular structural data.

Protein Data Bank Japan (PDBj), a founding member of the worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB) has accepted, processed and distributed experimentally determined biological macromolecular structures for 20 years. During that time, we have continuously made major improvements to our query search interface of PDBj Mine 2, the BMRBj web interface, and EM Navigator for PDB/BMRB/EMDB entries. PDBj also serves PDB‐related secondary database data, original web‐based modeling services such as Homology modeling of complex structure (HOMCOS), visualization services and utility tools, which we have continuously enhanced and expanded throughout the years. In addition, we have recently developed several unique archives, BSM‐Arc for computational structure models, and XRDa for raw X‐ray diffraction images, both of which promote open science in the structural biology community. During the COVID‐19 pandemic, PDBj has also started to provide feature pages for COVID‐19 related entries across all available archives at PDBj from raw experimental data and PDB structural data to computationally predicted models, while also providing COVID‐19 outreach content for high school students and teachers.

Protein Data Bank Japan: 20 years and more as the Asian hub for 3D structure and the founding member of the wwPDB

Protein Data Bank Japan: 20 years and more as the Asian hub for 3D structure and the founding member of the wwPDB

Building an Operational Solution Assistant System for Foreign SMEs in ROK

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is an important resource that helps accelerate the development of the country’s economy, add substantial funding to growth and facilitate technology transfer. Republic of Korea (ROK) is one of the world’s developed countries with dynamic economy, advanced science and technology. In recent years, the Korean government has continuously formulated tax policies, policies to support the business economy and import policies to support foreign businesses in Korea. The Pangyo Valley Creative Economy Valley is being groomed as a global startup hub in Asia. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in foreign countries are increasingly interested and eager to seek investment opportunities in the Korean market. Nonetheless, for these companies, language barriers and cultural and institutional differences make it more difficult and time-consuming to learn about the Korean market (such as investment trends, laws, visa policies, taxes and business establishment issues in Korea, etc.). In this study, we explored the process of searching information and seeking investment opportunities and built a business consulting and support application in the first stages of starting a business in ROK to increase effectiveness and save time, which is also an innovative business practice in Use-case ROK. We designed our Virtual Assistant system that can crawl and analyze data on foreign investments in ROK from open data resource websites (data.co.kr) and used analytic and aggregation techniques to explore trends in investments of foreign enterprises. We also researched the process of searching information and seeking investment opportunities for SMEs when investing in ROK, government support policies, laws and taxes as well as a number of other related issues. We built datasets and used Natural Language Processing (NLP) together with Natural Language Understanding (NLU) algorithms to build chatbot applications. Friendly framework for new developers to add and build up the dataset of AI Assistant is built by providing input intent data function, input Entity data function, input utterance data function as well as training and test function. In addition, we built a web-app connected to the server to visualize all the results of research so that SMEs owners can easily use and look for information on investments. Based on the research results, we can make recommendations to SMEs in keeping with the changing investment trends in ROK.