Asia Opportunities (2024)

FAQs

Why is Asia important to the world? ›

Asia is home to the world's earliest civilizations. Its indigenous cultures pioneered many practices that have been integral to societies for centuries, such as agriculture, city planning, and religion. The social and political geography of the continent continues to inform and influence the rest of the world.

ASEAN's demographics are ripe with opportunity – there is a growing middle class, a very high percentage of the population is of working age and domestic consumption is on the rise. GDP per capita is projected to grow 6.5% from 2017 – 2021, with disposable incomes to rise up to 10%.

New income opportunities

Improving corporate governance and stronger management focus on shareholder returns are also supporting higher dividend payouts, making Asia an increasingly important source of income for global investors.

It remains the growth engine of the world. It's an important part of global supply chains. Asia has innovation and growing consumption and it is increasingly important as a trade area itself. Above all, Asia matters because it continues to grow and is projected to grow faster than any other region in the coming years.

Asia has both the highest and the lowest points on the surface of Earth, has the longest coastline of any continent, is subject overall to the world's widest climatic extremes, and, consequently, produces the most varied forms of vegetation and animal life on Earth.

As the largest, most populous continent and rich in resources, Asia is home to several of the world's oldest civilizations, that produced the majority of the great religious systems, the oldest known recorded myths and codices on ethics and morality.

The bloc's biggest success in recent years has been promoting economic integration among members. It also helped negotiate the RCEP, the world's largest free trade agreement.

The ASEAN way is recognized as having helped maintain peace and stability in Southeast Asia for more than 50 years. The ASEAN way is based on the belief that Southeast Asian countries are equal and sovereign. Every country has the right to determine its own internal affairs without interference from other countries.

Highly Integrated and Cohesive Economy

The ASEAN Economic Community envisions ASEAN as a single market and production base. Free flow of goods, services, investments, capital, and labor will allow the development of production networks in the region and enhance ASEAN's capacity as the global supply chain.

The impact of Asia's resources on global economic growth is formidable. Asian countries rank as some of the top producers of many agricultural, forest, fishing, mining, and industrial products. This increased production has brought both extreme wealth and negative environmental impacts to the continent.

Why is Asia good for business? ›

Asia Has a Large Market of Consumers

It's also very much a connected population, full of consumers interested in everything from tech to fashion. So another potential benefit for businesses is that the market is already established, with a diverse selection of consumers ready to connect with new companies.

Asia is the fastest growing economic region, as well as the largest continental economy by both GDP Nominal and PPP in the world. Moreover, Asia is the site of some of the world's longest modern economic booms. The Greater Tokyo Area has the largest gross metropolitan product in Asia. 4.2% (2023 est.)

Asia's robust economic growth and its position as the world's manufacturing and trade hub give it a critical global role. Asia accounted for 57 percent of global GDP growth between 2015 and 2021. In 2021, Asia contributed 42 percent of world GDP (at purchasing power parity), more than any other region.

In this scenario, Asia's GDP (at market exchange rates) increases from $17 trillion in 2010 to $174 trillion in 2050, or half of global GDP, similar to its share of the global population. Seven economies would lead Asia's march to prosper- ity (Box 2).

Asia's history features major developments seen in other parts of the world, as well as events that have affected those other regions. These include the trade of the Silk Road, which spread cultures, languages, religions, and diseases throughout Afro-Eurasian trade.

India gave the world its numeric system, including the number zero, plastic surgery, steel production, and urban planning with sewage systems. And among China's many contributions are paper, printing, gunpowder, the compass, and clocks.

Asia is home to the majority of the world's population. The peoples of Asia have produced some of the world's most ancient and sophisticated cultures, many of which continue to thrive in the 21st century. Today Asia plays a major role in shaping the global environment—economic, political, natural—that we all share.

accounting for more than 35 percent of world GDP. Asia's share of world GDP is rising, thanks to its economic dynamism. Indeed, the region's economy, having fully recovered from the 1997–98 financial crisis, is now the fastest growing in the world, contributing close to 50 percent of world growth.