KUALA LUMPUR. ASEAN offers immense opportunities for impactful investment as leaders in business and government have been leaning in for greater regional integration, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour.
He said that this past year, with Malaysia chairing ASEAN, the region has seen unprecedented interest beyond trade, with growing interest in investment and strategic partnerships.
"Rising risk premia in the West amid the changing geopolitical landscape and new trade linkages, together with Southeast Asia’s growth trajectory, make our markets increasingly attractive.
"Some markets in the region can serve as safe launchpads: they carry the same challenges common across ASEAN, but with the stability and financial depth to de-risk innovation, and Malaysia is certainly one of them,” he said in his keynote address at the AVPN Global Conference 2025 in Hong Kong today.
AVPN is Asia’s largest network of social and impact investors that aims to drive capital towards impactful investments for social change across the region.
Abdul Rasheed said ASEAN is becoming a central chapter towards Asia’s economic growth, as it is emerging as a steady source of growth in an increasingly uncertain and multipolar world.
"Today, ASEAN is already the world’s fifth-largest economy with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of more than US$3.9 trillion, and projected to exceed US$5 trillion before 2030 (US$1=RM4.20). This puts ASEAN behind only the United States, China, and Germany by the end of the decade.
"Underpinning this momentum is a growing population of 670 million people, with a median age of 30 years old. ASEAN is expected to add over 130 million middle-class consumers,” said Abdul Rasheed.
ASEAN has demonstrated resilience in its growth, with GDP growing at an average of 4.8 per cent over the past two decades, despite financial crises, pandemics, and a shifting global order.
"This resilience is why ASEAN is at the heart of global supply chains, from agro-commodities to semiconductors, and natural resources to new frontiers in batteries,” he noted.
Asia contributes over 60 per cent of global growth, with intra-Asia trade now surpassing trade between Asia and the rest of the world. This is expected to increase by US$400 billion annually in the coming years. - Bernama
