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GS Home Shopping, a leading home shopping channel operator in Vietnam, said it had invested $1.2 million (Bt38.19 million) in Luxstay, a Vietnamese home-sharing platform that targets the Southeast Asian market.
The deal marks GS Home Shopping’s second such investment in an e-commerce startup based in Vietnam.
In January this year, the South Korean company invested $3 million in another e-commerce venture firm, Leflair, which focuses on premium-branded products for women, men, children and homes.
Vietnam, one of the fastest-growing countries in the travel industry, is a destination favoured by South Korean tourists for its low cost and diverse attractions.
The quarterly figure for South Korean tourists visiting Vietnam soared more than 24 per cent in the first three months of this year, exceeding the 1 million mark for the first time, industry data showed.
Given the current pace of growth, the annual figure is widely estimated to exceed 4 million for this year.
After topping the 1 million level for the first time in 2015, the annual number of South Korean tourists to Vietnam rose to 2.42 million in 2017 and 3.44 million last year. – The Korea Herald

L’Oreal, Alibaba announce AI mobile acne testing app
French personal care company LOreal and Chinese tech giant Alibaba have announced the world’s first mobile acne testing application powered by artificial intelligence at the Viva Technology conference last week. 
The app, Effaclar Spotscan, developed by La Roche-Posay, a brand of L’Oreal, and Alibaba allows those that have acne but with limited access to dermatological support to conduct professional skin self-testing and provides them with personalised and solutions.
The app uses AI technology to generate test reports based on three selfies uploaded to it. After testing, the app will provide users with personalised skin care suggestions based on the state of the skin.
It will also recommend the corresponding skin care product combinations and support the purchase of products online. If the app detects more severe skin problems, it can put the user in touch with a skin care expert for one-on-one consultations.
Kevin Chen, vice-president of L’Oreal China and also general manager of Active Cosmetics Division said, “The division’s mission is to create a beautiful future through better health. Effaclar Spotscan is a true beauty tech innovation that is tailored to meet everyone’s unmet health needs. Its precision of skin testing cannot be achieved without L’Oreal’s century-old history of scientific expertise and the professional guidance of hundreds of top dermatologists around the world.”
Added Chen, “We have analysed more than 6,000 images of consumers from various races, with different skin types and varying levels of acne issues, and from different genders, to ensure that there is enough basis for a precise test,” Chen added.
Alibaba’s AI technologies provide Effaclar Spotscan with substantive support. Based on acne images collected and dermatologists’ analysis results, AI scientists adopted deep-learning technologies, including object classification and detection to create a neural network model for acne testing that explains the linkage between visualsed acne information and type of lesions, to generate a comprehensive testing result.
Wang Yeming, general manager of Alibaba Cloud EMEA, said, “Millions of consumers on Tmall and Taobao are plagued by acne. Through AI technology, they can now gain a better understanding of the state of their skin and choose the skin care solution that is right for them in an effective and convenient manner without even having to leave their homes”. – China Daily

Samsung introduces video AS service
Samsung Electronics Service, an aftersales subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, said it will introduce a video consultation service for customers who experience problems. 
When customers make contact, a text message with a link to the video system will be sent. It will connect customers with service engineers, allowing them to show problematic parts of their products directly to the engineers. 
“The service will help customers explain better the problems they face, while saving their time with no need to visit a store,” said a company official. 
The service won’t charge customers, and doesn’t require users to download an extra application. 
They can apply for it at the firm’s call centre. – The Korea Herald