Singapore is an economic miracle, setting high business standards and demonstrating success not just within ASEAN but globally. Global companies find it easier to set up and run a business in Singapore than back home. A Singapore corporate base often serves as a gateway to Southeast Asia and the wider region. In 2019, the World Economic Forum ranked it as the world’s most competitive economy. This was driven by high scores in citizens’ life expectancy, infrastructure, financial system, market efficiency and macroeconomic stability. It is widely regarded as one of the safest countries in the world, with low crime rates, a transparent legal system, and a reliable police force.

Hailed as the Silicon Valley of Asia, the government puts a priority in being a “choice hub” for business, finance, trade and data flows. The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the country first in Asia on digital infrastructure, ahead of Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea. It is in the top 10 of the World Economic Forum’s 2020 global ranking on digital skills and digital legal framework, reflecting the country’s sustained investment in communications technologies and connectivity, and the digital upskilling of its citizens. In 2020, Singapore’s Intellectual Property Office has also launched the SG Patent Fast Track, the world’s fastest patent application-to-grant process; the pilot programme shortens granting of patent applications to just six months. This complements its other acceleration programs that help enterprises speed up their patent grant process, a welcome news to tech companies looking to expand into the region.

Malaysia is a serious economic player in the region, further along the development curve than most of its ASEAN neighbours yet still offering first-class investment opportunities to global companies.

It is a culturally and ethnically diverse nation. The Malays and other closely related ethnic groups comprise the majority of the country’s 32 million population; the Chinese is the next largest ethnicity, while the Indian community is estimated at 6-7%. Islam is the country’s official religion. The country’s official language is Malay or Bahasa Melayu, a standard form of the Malay language. English is widely spoken and remains an active second language; Mandarin and Tamil are the other languages. The country proudly presents itself as “Malaysia, truly Asia”.

Malaysia is one of Southeast Asia’s economic success stories. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by natural resources but has expanded to other sectors including tourism and manufacturing; it exports a significant amount of electrical appliances, parts, and components. Its infrastructure and extensive road networks is one of the best in the region, second only to Singapore. High literacy rate, a young, educated and diverse working population, makes its workforce attractive to potential investors. In 2020, it ranked 57th in Transparency International’s Global Corruption Perceptions Index (GCPI), making it the 3rd most transparent company in ASEAN. Malaysia also scores very well in ease of doing business, currently ranked 12th among 190 or so countries.

Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is the only nation in the region able to avoid colonization by foreign powers. Geographically, it is the second largest nation in Southeast Asia with an area covering over 200,000 square miles (over 500,000 sq. km.). It is also ASEAN’s second largest economy with GDP exceeding US$500B in 2021 representing 15% of the bloc’s total GDP.

Pro-investment government policies, both historical and current, continue to successfully attract foreign capital with ambitious initiatives to improve infrastructure and ease of doing business. Like Vietnam, Thailand is well-placed to pick up investment overflow from China should global politics dictate it, and as “China plus one”. With exports accounting for about 60% of its economy, the country relies heavily on international trade. Exports include electronics, agricultural products and processed foods, cars and vehicle parts. It also functions as an anchor economy for the neighbouring developing economies of Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

Agriculture accounts for less than 10% of GDP but employs almost a third of the country’s labor force. Rice is the most important crop in the country with about 55% of arable land being used for production. It has long been one of the world’s leading exporters of rice. Tourism also plays a major role in its economy. It is the most visited country in Southeast Asia, welcoming as many as 40 million visitors pre pandemic. Tourism, including the indirect effects, is estimated to account for as much as 20% of the country’s GDP. 

Indonesia is an emerging economic powerhouse. It is the largest economy in ASEAN, and is the only G20 member state from the region. Its GDP has grown an impressive six-fold since 2000, and is expected to grow by 5% per year on average over the next 5 years. In 2019, Indonesia’ Gross National Income per capita surpassed the World Bank’s threshold of US$4,050; it officially became an upper-middle income country in July 2020. The economic slowdown due to the pandemic resulted in reclassification to lower-middle income country in 2021. However, this is expected to be temporary with the Indonesian economy expected to have a strong rebound. 

Domestic demand will continue growing driven by its 270 million population, and rising income. President Widodo has brought political stability since he was elected in 2014. Attracting foreign investors is a key element of his economic strategy. His initiatives include opening more sectors to foreign investment, improving critical infrastructure and increasing the ease of doing business in the country. Indonesia also has an abundance of natural resources. The 13,000-island archipelago is an incredibly bio-diverse country. It has the 3rd largest tropical rainforests which support its timber industry; is rich in energy and mineral resources, and has massive plantations for spices, rubber, palm oil, and other commodities. 

Indonesia’s technological progress is impressive, and is expected to help turbo-charge the economy. Investments in 5G and IoT will improve connectivity. Cloud services are expected to increase, led by top global players such as Alibaba, Google and AWS. These will transform how industries operate, and usher further digital transformation across sectors.  

Since the Vietnamese government initiated economic and political reforms in 1986, Vietnam’s pace of development has been truly remarkable. From 2000 to 2021, GDP increased 10 times, from $40B to $366B; it accounts for 11% of the region’s economy. Within the same period, GDP per capita increased 7.5 times, reaching over US$3,700 in 2021. A country of 97 million people, Vietnam’s impressive growth was primarily fueled by robust domestic demand, export-oriented manufacturing and a growing services sector. Even during the pandemic, growth slowed down but remained in positive territory in 2020 and 2021.  

Vietnam’s dynamic economy, entrepreneurial zeal and hard-working, educated citizens all disproved old Cold War labels long ago. The country offers global companies excellent development opportunities in manufacturing and other investments within special zones. Vietnam is particularly well-suited, culturally and commercially, to pick up investment overflow from China if global politics dictates it, and as “China plus one”.  The country offers affordable labour costs and land prices, favourable corporate income tax rates, a slew of trade agreements (including the recent EU-Vietnam free trade agreement), a young and skilled workforce, and a strategic geographic location.

An archipelago with more than 7,000 islands, the Philippines is the 3rd largest economy in ASEAN, next to Indonesia and Thailand. It accounts for almost 12% of the region’s GDP. The top two contributors to its economy are its world-class business process outsourcing industry, and dollar remittances from the more than 10 million Filipinos residing overseas. With a population exceeding 100 million people, its economic growth prospects remain positive on the back of strong consumer demand. Consumer trends including digital migration and value hunting are likely to continue post the pandemic. Certain industries including healthcare, energy and power, and tourism are expected to expand. 

The Philippines is commercially dynamic and highly Westernized. Filipinos are open to new trends, educated, friendly, and speak very good English. Apart from favourable demographics, entrepreneurial flair and energy abound with several first-rate companies such as San Miguel, Ayala, and Jollibee. New measures to ease rules on foreign equity ownership and lower the minimum paid-up capital of foreign retailers are expected to support economic growth and attract further investments. The government is expected to continue investing in large, priority infrastructure projects at a spending level of over 5.0% of GDP.