The Top 5 Booming Southeast Asian Economies

I’ve been contemplating heading East to get some perspective lately, specifically Southeast Asia as they’re fast emerging.

Southeast Asian countries have an abundance of natural resources as well as a strategic location on the world’s map which attracts multinational companies looking for manufacturing plants. Some of these countries also have high populations of English speakers due to them being former English colonies. Here are 5 booming Southeast Asian economies I’m looking at, which excludes their more developed neighbours, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

  1. Vietnam

Vietnam is one of the booming economies in Southeast Asia. The last two decades saw the country having a significant economic growth. Vietnam has a large domestic population both locally and abroad in places like France and the United States. The country’s history of civil war and the Vietnam War in the 1970s did not stop it from having an infrastructure and tourism rich industry.

  1. Laos

This country has an abundance of natural resources. One good example is metals that are coveted by other countries. This country also sells river generated energy to its neighbouring countries. Although agriculture is the focus of this country’s economy, its rivers and metals provide it the potential to flourish in the natural resources sector.

  1. Cambodia

Cambodia is well-renowned for its most famous temple in the Southeast Asian region which is the Angkor Wat temple. This country was plagued by war and massacre for decades before finally seeing some peace. The textile industry in this country is a booming industry producing low-cost clothes while the tourism industry forms a large part of the country’s GDP.

  1. Philippines

This country has a lot of speakers well-versed in the English language. Its low-costs and high-quality workforce and infrastructure made it a popular offshore administrative hub for various multinational companies. The beautiful beaches in this country also make it a good tourism destination.

  1. Myanmar

This country has begun to open-up after years of military rule. This country offers English speakers and cheap labour costs making it an attractive place for other international companies looking to expand their operations abroad. The country is well-known for being safe and its tourism industry is also booming. Myanmar is slowly regaining its status as the wealthiest Southeast Asian country as well. When completed, the Dawei Deep Seaport will be the biggest Southeast Asian economic zone.