Region Snapshot*
Southeast An Overview of Trends in Select Sectors and Markets DecemberAsia 2008/January 2009 Region Snapshot* Duringuring 2007 and 2008, the private equity industry in the SoutheaSoutheastst Asia region seemed to recover from the collapse of private equity there followingfollowing the late 1990s • 2008 Population: 583 million fi nancial crisis. Despite residual concerns about political instability and corruption, and • Population Growth (2009): 1.5% worries that fallout from the US recession will worsen a slide in exports, the investment • % of Population Under 15 Years-old: 31% thesis for the region remains strong. Young and growing populationspopulations are rapidly develop- • 2008 GDP Current Prices: US$1,487 bn ing consumer habits; resource-rich economies like Indonesia standstand to gain from com- modity price gains and rising energy needs; trade relationships within the region and with • GDP Growth (2009): 4.8% other Asian partners are strengthening; and governments in the region continue to make • Infl ation (2008, 2009): 10.2%, 6.4% progress, albeit sometimes slow, toward economic reforms. Source: IMF, Population Reference Bureau. * Statistics refer to 10 countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Capital dedicated to private equity investment in the region has doubled over the last Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. eight years, rising from US$520 million in 2001 to US$982 million in 2008, after reach- ing a zenith in the 1990s. Between 2005 and 2008, the total value of private equity This issue of EMPEA Insight focuses on the Southeast investment in Southeast Asia nearly quadrupled, increasing from US$1.3 billion to US$5 Asian countries of Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, billion through December 2008.
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