The region’s internet economy is growing faster than expected, with a new saying it will reach $360 billion by 2025, an upward revision from the previous $300 billion forecast.
The digital economy will play a bigger role in the region’s future than previously expected, and as more people are turning to the internet to meet their everyday needs, this is opening up new possibilities for consumers across the region, Google, Temasek and Bain & Company said in a new report published on Wednesday.
According to the «e-Conomy SEA» report 2021, titled «Roaring 20’s: The SEA Digital Decade,» 60 million new digital consumers have been added since the pandemic began, with 20 million of them added in H1 2021.
The region now has more than 440 million internet users, with about 80 percent of them, or 350 million people, being digital consumers.
Defining the Future of Technology
While e-commerce is leading the digital economy, health, education and financial technology are sectors that are growing faster because of COVID-19, and are expected to become a significant part of the digital economy by 2030.
Google said the region’s digital economy is estimated to reach $174 billion in gross merchandise value by the end of 2021, and this figure can reach $1 trillion by 2030.
«Growth on that scale would see Southeast Asia help define the future of technology globally,» Stephanie Davis, Vice President, Google Southeast Asia, said in a blog post.
The Development of Digital Finance
By 2025, the gross transaction value of digital payments is projected to exceed USD 1.1 trillion, up from a projection of USD 707 billion in 2021.
New Funding Records
Some $11.5 billion was invested during the first half of 2021 and 11 consumer technology unicorns were added in 2021, bringing the total to 23.
