Grab delivery cyclists ride past each other in Singapore in 2020 (Photo: AFP) As governmentsencourage people to stay at home to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Southeast Asia saw arapid adoption of digital services like e-commerce, food delivery, and onlinepayment methods.
This trend ispredicted to continue in the coming time. The report, which surveyedmore than 16,000 people in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore,Thailand and Vietnam, projected the number of digital consumers in SoutheastAsia will reach 350 million by the end of this year.
By the end of 2021, Facebook and Bain expect more than 70 percent ofpeople 15-years-old and above in the surveyed countries to shop online. The reportpredicted the number of online shoppers in Southeast Asia will reach 380million by 2026.
Among the surveyed countries, Indonesia, the largest economy in SoutheastAsia, continues to see the highest growth rate, the report said, adding thatthe country’s digital consumer population is predicted to grow around 15percent, from 144 million in 2020 to 165 million in 2021.
According to the report, in the first three months of 2021, 88percent of private equity and venture capital investments in the region flowedinto the technology and internet sector. Of that, 56 percent went intofinancial technology./.
VNA
