Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – ASEAN is poised to enter 2025–2026 with strong momentum, anchored by five dynamic economies, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam (MIT-PV), according to Chief Economist at IQI Global Shan Saeed.
He said the MIT-PV economies are quickly becoming the mainstay of ASEAN’s next growth supercycle, supported by booming populations, rising wealth, structural reforms, and stategic convergence of human resources development, infrastructure modernisation, and resources.
Vietnam is now at a growth peak with GDP expansion expected at 7–8%, driven by its young population and rapid development of a tech-savvy workforce at the higher education level. Indonesia, the bloc’s largest economy, continue to post 5–6% growth by tapping into its population scale, downstream industrialisation initiatives, and rich natural resources from nickel and bauxite to energy and agriculture.
Supported by increasing per capita income and an expanding middle class, Malaysia and the Philippines are expected to grow 4.5–5.5%, reflecting robust dometic demand and diversifying economic engines. Meanwhile, Thailand is set for 3–4% growth, powered by world-class infrastructure, recovering tourism, and supply-chain restructuring, consolidating its role as a logistics and manufacturing hub in the region.
Saeed highlighted ASEAN’s demographic advantage, with a population of about 680 million people, 34% of workers under 25, and those aged 18–49 making up the majority of the workforce, which is fuelling productivity, innovation, and domestic consumption.
In addition, ASEAN is creating a skillful, diverse, and more competitive workforce. Investment is being strongly channelled into infrastructure while high-quality FDI and abundant commodity resources, from Indonesia's crucial minerals to Malaysia's energy reserves and the Philippines' resources, are reinforcing the MIT-PV countries' position as a structural foundation for ASEAN's long-term economic resilience.
He stressed that these five economies are not isolated growth successes but together forming a cornerstone for the next structural expansion of ASEAN. With a large population, a young and skillful workforce, rising aggregate demand, solid sovereignty, and expanding regional integration, ASEAN is poised for not only growth but also transition, becoming an economic hub capable of competing with the world's leading ones such as the EU, North America, and Northeast Asia./.
VNA
