Strait Up: Decoding Southeast Asia’s key digital report

The year's must-read digital report is out Good morning Dear Reader,   Welcome to Strait Up, The Ken Southeast Asia's premium weekly newsletter that helps you make sense of what's going on in the region. You can find all issues of Strait Up https://the-ken.com/sea/straitup/ This week, we're looking at the latest annual e-Conomy report, a must read for anyone in tech or business in Southeast Asia. We've pored through the key details of this year's installment to give you the lowdown.     So, without further ado, let's get to it. Southeast Asia's internet economy: the good, the bad and the weird   Nadine and Ben   Photo by Capturing the human heart. on Unsplash   This week, Google, Temasek, and Bain released the 2020 version of their annual "Southeast Asia e-Conomy" report.   Since its debut in 2016, this report has become the go-to reference whenever someone wants to quantify digital opportunities in the region.   The good news first: Unlike the actual economy, which in some countries has seen double-digit dips due to the pandemic, the digital economy in Southeast Asia hasn't suffered much in 2020. In fact, it's grown slightly. Total Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) increased by 5% to reach US$105 billion, according to the report.   While the GMV generated through travel platforms plunged dramatically, a growth in e-commerce transactions plugged that gap. In normal years, travel was the largest contributor to digital GMV.  Overall, the report concludes, the digital economy has proven itself resilient. Despite the almost flatlining growth this year, its authors remain optimistic that by 2025—which is 10 years since the first report was issued—overall GMV in Southeast Asia will grow to US$309 billion.   The 2025 target has increased with every report and that continued with this year's edition, in spite of the pandemic.   The debut report stated an initial projection of US$200 billion GMV by 2025. This was gradually upgraded and, by the 2019 edition, it was pegged at US$300 billion.    Approaching saturation   Another key focus is Southeast Asia's digital population.... Read the full newsletter. Subscribe now Get access to all premium stories and newsletters from The Ken Southeast Asia GET ACCESS NOW Strait Up is a weekly newsletter that cuts through the noise of the week to give you the need-to-know business, tech, and startup analysis. This is a paid newsletter that's available exclusively to premium subscribers of The Ken Southeast Asia See past editions This newsletter was sent to edwardlorilla1986.paxforex@blogger.com. Something wrong? Tell us at support@the-ken.com Want to unsubscribe from Strait Up, our premium weekly newsletter? Click here. Or set your email preferences here   © 2020  The Ken https://sg-mktg.com/MTYwNTIyNTY4MXxNR2wybVJYSXVVZ1RYNm5pVW1iTjhaLVpZNG9neklyNVFpQjdJNHEwZnowQTJ4M280T29lWHRRZjRZSnplWUl3ZElVSU9UdEFKMkRYZC16V1dpTHE2cXdFb21vY1BpZW5sblBYZVBZTGNNdG5ySjR6dFF3Tk0xcWZUZU0zTXV0cGYzT1lYRmlUMS1ZS1JZVFdnMzhoYVA2YUZoSkNPZk9fNzE5SzU1V0ZiVW01c2xUWVRLeXRaQ1BMUWVha3p4cmxGeHRVbVZ5dGJqWjdHcUlwcllaV3R4N29sczFrZWIyZEZhZXQ1dEVzc2RtNHRFcUUtNmJycVRid3l0YlNGMUczcUEtSGdFQ2w5TzV5RDhZNF9XSkZITHRZVDVDUDVmbUMxUT09fIDBKmyJ-Uz2y4IRbSG1H6j4PVDUXT3w2dooyMXWDV2z