According to The Australian Financial Review, Australia’s largest semiconductor maker, Morse Micro, has spent more than $80 million over the last two years preparing to scale up the production of its chips, as the Sydney-based start-up eyes its first big sales.
Morse Micro was founded in 2016 by two former employees of US-based semiconductor giant Broadcom, Andrew Terry and Michael De Nil, who have focused on developing chips that provide a robust and reliable Wi-Fi connection over a long range.
The heavily backed company has manufactured more than 2 million chips in its Singapore facility since it began mass production of its energy-efficient, long-range Wi-Fi HaLow chips in August.
After seven years of research and development, chief executive Michael de Nil said Morse Micro aimed to produce “hundreds of millions of chips” in the next few years.

https://www.afr.com/technology/aussie-chipmaker-eyes-payoff-from-80m-investment-20231119-p5el5b

According to The Australian Financial review, national home values hit a record high on Wednesday after jumping 8.1 per cent from their trough earlier this year and recouping all losses of the recent downturn, according to CoreLogic’s daily home value index.
After an unexpectedly short, but sharp slump, values recovered despite rapid interest rate rises and gloomy sentiment, pushing house prices in one in three suburbs nationwide to new record highs as of October 31, while three in 10 unit markets hit new peaks, the data provider said.

https://www.afr.com/property/residential/house-values-shrug-off-rate-rises-and-hit-fresh-peak-for-now-20231122-p5elwb
 

According to The Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo Gas Co. has started a carbon recycling service with a device that can create material for soap and fertilizers from gas emissions.
However, the company must overcome a number of technical challenges before it can spread the use of the device and create a decarbonized society.
One problem is the high introduction cost. Another is the fact that the device can recover only a small amount of CO2 from the gas emissions.
For now, the company expects to install several units annually.

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15048204

According to The Jiji News, a Japanese government panel proposed Friday that foreigners working under a planned system to replace the technical trainee program be allowed to change employers after one year in principle. 
The panel, chaired by Japan International Cooperation Agency President Akihiko Tanaka, decided not to adopt an earlier proposal that the minimum working period be set at up to two years from the start of employment, following opposition from panel members.

https://sp.m.jiji.com/english/show/29752
 

According to The Australian Financial Review, the Albanese government will supercharge its struggling 82 per cent clean energy goal by dramatically expanding its underwriting of green generation and storage, effectively replacing the Renewable Energy Target favoured by some wind and solar proponents.
In a major overhaul triggered by growing fears of grid instability as coal and gas exits the system, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen will present state and territory counterparts with an expanded “Capacity Investment Scheme” at a meeting.
The shake-up, which specifically excludes support for gas projects, aims to accelerate investment in wind, solar and batteries by giving proponents certainty over their revenues.
In an effort to unlock regulatory bottlenecks, it also contains incentives for states and territories who streamline approval processes by dangling a greater share of six-monthly “capacity auctions”.

https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/chris-bowen-s-energy-transition-rescue-20231122-p5elxe
 

According to The Nikkei Asia, Japan plans to let foreign entrepreneurs live in the country for two years without a place of business or investment, Nikkei has learned, looking to help them get their business off the ground by easing residency requirements.
The move marks Tokyo's latest attempt to energize Japan's economy with an injection of international talent.
Current rules require foreigners to secure a place of business and at least two full-time employees or an investment of 5 million yen ($33,000) to qualify for business management residency.
The investment requirement is daunting for fledgling companies that may not even be profitable. A two-year grace period would let owners focus on growing their businesses.
"Big Japanese corporations have not lost their appetite for investment, so startups have prospects for attracting funding" in Japan, said Yuma Saito, president of Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Japan-immigration/Japan-to-ease-residency-rules-for-foreigners-starting-a-business
 

According to The Australian Financial Review, new apartment sales on the booming Gold Coast more than doubled over the September quarter. The surge came as a swath of cashed-up local and interstate buyers pounced on the larger luxury residences that have become the post-COVID-19 staple of the coastal city market.
Quarterly data from research house Urbis shows 470 unit sales over July, August and September, a 135 per cent increase on the 200 sales recorded over the June quarter.

https://www.afr.com/property/residential/cash-buyers-flock-to-the-gold-coast-as-luxury-apartment-sales-surge-20231110-p5ej22
 

According to The Asahi Shimbun, with moves afoot in Japan to begin ride-sharing programs in certain localities, the CEO of Uber Technologies Inc. has expressed interest in driving into the Japanese market.
Dara Khosrowshahi met with Japanese media representatives.
“Potential in Japan is enormous,” Khosrowshahi said, noting it had the fourth largest gross domestic product in the world. “Japan is a very strategic market for us. It’s a very large economy.”
If Japanese authorities approve ride-sharing programs, Uber is prepared to jump into the market, Khosrowshahi said.
Uber already has ties with some Japanese taxi companies and Khosrowshahi said, “We want every single taxi in Japan on our Uber app.”

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15058734
 

According to The Asahi Shimbun, Local businesses in Okayama Prefecture, Japan are giving old solar panels another day in the sun through successfully recycling old panels and creating new ones. 
A solar industry association is touting the achievement as marking a major step toward fashioning a truly renewable energy model.
“We have proven that solar panels are recyclable,” said Takahisa Fujii, the chief director of the PV Reborn Association. “It was a first step toward our ultimate goal of extracting all materials from the old panels.”

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15055646
 

According to The PV Magazine, British-headquartered oil and gas major bp will look at deploying a 100 MW electrolyser to produce renewable hydrogen for domestic and export markets as it seeks to transform its former Kwinana oil refinery site in Western Australia into a green fuels hub.
Energy giant bp’s plans to produce green hydrogen at its Kwinana Energy Hub in Western Australia have reached a major milestone with the company’s H2Kwinana project entering front-end engineering and design (FEED).
The company said the H2Kwinana project, supported by $70 million (USD 45 million) from the Australian government as part of its Regional Hydrogen Hubs program, is to include a 100 MW electrolyser, with the potential to expand to a total of 1.5 GW production in subsequent phases.

https://www.pv-magazine-australia.com/2023/11/17/feds-tip-70-million-into-kwinana-hydrogen-hub-as-bp-eyes-1-5-gw-capacity-project/