Hailed as an economic “dark horse” by Arsjad Rasjid at the World Economic Forum in August, Asean Business Advisory Council chair noted that the region is set to be a “global centre of growth”, thanks to its feasible demographic of a growing working-age and growing middle-class population. The region’s overall GDP reached around an estimated 4.0% in 2023. While slower than the 4.7% figure in 2022, this remains ahead of the estimated global GDP growth of 3.0% in 2023.
The Asean region has made significant progress since the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, which saw currency depreciation, stockmarket devaluation and increased private debt across East and Southeast Asia.
Fast forward to 2023, and the region is one of the fastest-growing in the world. Today, it is the fifth-largest economy in the world, with a combined GDP of around US$3.7 trillion ($4.97 trillion) and a population of over 680 million people.
