Navigating complexity in a rapidly-evolving tech world

Evidence tier: A1 Evidence type: Auto-discovered official publication Source: Standard Chartered News Official publication date: 2026-07-13 Captured: 2026-07-16T20:30:48.852Z

How policy, AI and digital assts are reshaping the rules of the Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) industry.

The following article builds on our Top Five Policy Issues 2026 report : Past the Inflection Point.

In its Top Five Policy Issues 2026 report, our Group Public and Regulatory Affairs team details how technology policy is moving closer to the centre of the business strategy. As regulatory priorities evolve across markets, decisions on AI governance, digital assets, data movement and critical infrastructure are becoming more fragmented – and more consequential for product roadmaps, operating models and risk.

Here are five trends to stay on top of:

1. AI governance tightens, but standards diverge

Expect more requirements on accountability, traceability and human oversight, interpreted in a myriad of different ways.

2. Digital Assets complete the shift from experiment to regulated infrastructure

Client demand is increasing as real use cases become reality – access, execution, custody, tokenisation and interoperability solutions. Jurisdictions risk losing market relevance if they are not connected to future on-chain infrastructure, and regulators need to build frameworks to ensure safe adoption and financial stability.

3. Data localisation and cross-border restrictions expand

Architecture, vendor choice and analytics strategies will need to adapt to where data can live and how it can move.

4. Compute infrastructure gains even greater strategic importance

Data centres, subsea cables and cloud dependencies face greater scrutiny as markets focus on resilience, capacity and control.

5. Operational resilience and cyber expectations rise

Outages, third‑party risk and new resilience standards are pushing boards and regulators to demand stronger controls.