Southeast Asia economies continued to deliver credible economic performance, although growth momentum was mixed across the region. Vietnam’s GDP growth of 7.4 percent in the third quarter was its third-highest attained in the past five years, while Singapore saw its strongest quarterly GDP growth since 2022 at 5.4 percent. Thailand, too, saw accelerated growth. Growth momentum, meanwhile, abated in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines (Exhibit 1). Core growth drivers remained broadly solid, with the combination of strong exports, higher investments, output expansion, and stable consumption prevalent across most markets.1
The resilient labor markets and lower inflation conditions, coupled with sustained demand from key global markets, such as China and the United States, should provide hope for a continuation of a positive economic trajectory in the region. The growth outlook will, however, remain subject to domestic and external risk considerations, especially the ongoing global geopolitical challenges.
Regional economic overview
In this article, we focus on the economies of six countries in Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. We start by setting the scene with a regional overview.
Despite mixed performance in the third quarter of 2024, GDP growth remained robust in the region, with strong exports and investments broadly driving growth. Vietnam’s GDP grew 7.4 percent in the third quarter, its third-highest growth in the past five years. Singapore saw its strongest GDP growth since 2022 at 5.4 percent, up from 2.9 percent in the previous quarter. Thailand, too, saw growth accelerate. Malaysia’s economy grew slower at 5.3 percent in the third quarter, yet it still had a credible performance, with exports, investments, and consumption remaining stable. This is also in light of the second quarter’s growth of 5.9 percent, being one of Malaysia’s best quarterly performances in the past three years. Indonesia experienced its second consecutive quarter of slower growth as consumption, a key growth driver, remained flat. The Philippines recorded 5.2 percent growth, the slowest over the past five quarters, as exports saw a blip.
Trade gathered pace, with export growth supported by demand from key trading partners such as China and the United States, particularly in commodities as well as electronics, which continued to benefit from the global technology upcycle. Export growth accelerated in the third quarter across Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Singapore returned to its prior growth trajectory following a spike in the second quarter, while the Philippines saw a 1.0 percent contraction. Imports broadly grew strongly, following an increase in local demand for intermediate and capital goods to support industrial production and investment activities.