When looking at developing winning strategies and building sustainable growth platforms within the region, it’s worth taking a look beyond the “big three”; China, Japan, and India.

The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) free-trade zone, made up by the countries of Southeast Asia (as illustrated below), with its 600 million people collectively represents the world’s fifth-largest economy. While the economies of China, Japan, and India attract the news headlines, the ASEAN countries are racing ahead with ever tighter economic integration, and increasingly contributing to the Asia Rising story.

According to a 2017 study published Price Waterhouse Coopers study, the ASEAN countries Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, are all expected to become top-25 economies by 2030.

In particular, Indonesia is undergoing a massive transition, and Price Waterhouse Coopers projects Indonesia to be the world’s 5^th largest economy by 2030.  With 260 million inhabitants, Indonesia is the 4^th most populous nation on the planet, and the Jakarta metropolitan area is now the second most populous on the planet, surpassed only by the Tokyo-Yokohama area.

At T5CO we have deep insight to the ASEAN region and we have the relationships so mission critical to any long term success in the region.