SEA

The Asia Pacific region is expected to generate around two-thirds of the world’s new retail sales over the next five years, driven by a consumer base of more than 4.3 billion people, 18 megacities, and a rapidly expanding middle class.

Southeast Asia’s ecommerce platform gross merchandise value (GMV) grew 22.8 percent year-on-year in 2025 to reach $157.6 billion in 2025, as leading platforms returned to growth while continuing to improve infrastructure, fulfilment, and customer experience, Momentum Works said Tuesday.

Indonesia’s data center sector is entering a structurally differentiated growth phase, with Batam increasingly positioned as a regulatory compliance and Singapore-linked overflow hub, while Jakarta continues to anchor core hyperscale and enterprise demand, according to BMI Country Risk and Industry Research.

Southeast Asia saw a total of 14 initial public offerings (IPOs) that raised $1.8 billion in the first quarter of 2026, a 48 percent decline in volume but 174 percent increase in proceeds compared with 27 IPOs raising $700 million in the first quarter of 2025, EY said Monday.

Green and Smart Mobility (GSM), the ride-hailing service under the ecosystem of Vietnam's conglomerate Vingroup, has launched its shared business platform, Green SM Platform, in Indonesia and the Philippines.

"We are targeting to launch the new fund in the first quarter next year," Creador Founder and Chief Executive Officer Brahmal Vasudevan told TNGlobal.

South Korea will launch pilot projects testing artificial intelligence (AI)-based smart city technologies across five Southeast Asian countries, as part of efforts to address urban challenges while supporting the overseas expansion of domestic firms, Korean media reported on Monday.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced plans to mobilize up to $6 billion by 2030 and provide institutional support to capital market regulators in Southeast Asia to accelerate the development of the region’s capital markets and strengthen its long-term financial resilience against external shocks.

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