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Alt text for Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040

Figure (a) Potential value of two-way trade between Australia and Southeast Asia by 2040 (A$ billion)

The column bar chart has four columns with values in billions (Australian dollars).

From left to right, the first bar shows the 2022 baseline for two-way trade with Southeast Asia at 178 billion. With a current growth rate of 5.5 per cent for contribution in trade, 287 billion is added by 2040.

With additional contributions at 6.3 per cent growth rate, 69 billion could be added.

The final bar combines the previous three, showing a total of 534 billion in potential total contribution by 2040.

Infographic: A whole of nation effort with our region

The infographic is shaped in an octagon and is sectioned into four using different shades of purple.

Each section represents community, with a graphic of six people together, Southeast Asian governments with a small map of Southeast Asia, Australian Government with a graphic of Parliament House, and businesses and industry.

Arrows are used to link all the sections to each other to depict the Australian Government, the Southeast Asian governments, business and industry and the community working together.

Infographic: Required actions

The first box has an icon of a silhouette of a speaking head. The first key priority is raise awareness: To address a lack of knowledge of markets, sectors, and declining regional literacy.

The second box has an icon of an unlocked padlock. The second key priority is remove blockages: To address tariff and non-tariff barriers, including through mutual recognition of qualifications and standards harmonisation; managing risks; and enhancing mobility.

The third box has an icon of two hands shaking. The third key priority is build capability: To ensure Australia and the region have the skills and capability to pursue opportunities and address economic challenges.

The fourth box has an icon of a bar graph with increasing bars, the last bar is an arrow pointing up. The fourth key priority is deepen investment: To increase economic growth and prosperity.

Figure 1.1 Total two-way goods and services trade with Southeast Asia relative to other major trading partners 2010-2022

The chart uses lines moving from left to right over time, with each line representing different trading partners (Southeast Asia, China, Japan, United States, Republic of Korea) and their two-way trade in billions (Australian dollars) with Australia.

The chart spans 2010 to 2022.

It shows that Australia does more trade with Southeast Asia than with the other partners, except China. It also shows that although the volume of trade with each partner differs, the trend of trade with all except China is similar, increasing slightly overtime.

Two-way trade with China is seen to be growing faster than with other trading partners, and by 2022 is considerably greater, at 300 billion, compared to the second largest trading partner, Southeast Asia, at 175 billion.

Figure 1.2 Sectoral composition of Australian goods exports to Southeast Asia 2022

The pie chart shows Australia’s exports to Southeast Asia by sector in billions (Australian dollars).

The largest sector is Minerals and fuels at 31.3 billion, followed by Manufactures at 9.4 billion, Agriculture, fisheries & forestry at 17.6 billion and then other goods at 16 billion.

There is a note to convey these figures exclude crude petroleum due to confidentiality in Australian export statistics.

Figure 1.3 Australia's total goods and services trade with Southeast Asia 2010-2022 

The bar chart shows Australia’s two-way goods and services trade with Southeast Asia in billions (Australian dollars).

From left to right, each bar represents a year, and its height reflects the value of two-way trade for that year.

The nominal value of Australia’s trade with Southeast Asia has grown steadily between 2010 to 2022, from 82 to 178 billion.

The line chart shows Southeast Asia’s share of Australia’s total goods and services trade has stayed at around 14 per cent on average between 2010 to 2022.

The chart shows that although the nominal trade value has increased, the proportion of total trade going to Southeast Asia has stayed the same over 2010 to 2022.

Figure 1.4 Australian investment in Southeast Asia by type of investment stocks 2003-2022

The stacked column bar chart shows Australia’s investment in Southeast Asia broken down by type of investment stocks.

From left to right, each bar represents a year (from 2003 to 2022) with the bar height reflecting the total value of Australian investment for that year in millions (Australian dollars).

Each bar is broken down into four categories: Direct investment abroad, Portfolio investment assets, financial derivative assets, and other investment assets.

The bar chart shows that Australian investment to Southeast Asia grew from 19 billion in 2003 to 125 billion in 2019. There was a drop in 2020 and 2021 to around 95 billion, and grew again in 2021 to 106 billion.

The ratio of investment types changes over time with Portfolio investments showing the most growth as a proportion of the total and Financial derivative assets remaining the smallest.

Of importance, the key investment category of direct investment abroad falls from 2019 to 2022.

Figure 1.5 Australian investment in Southeast Asia by type of investment stocks 2003-2022

The stacked column bar chart shows Australia’s investment in Southeast Asia broken down by type of investment stocks.

From left to right, each bar represents a year (from 2003 to 2022) with the bar height reflecting the total value of Australian investment for that year in millions (Australian dollars).

Each bar is broken down into four categories: Direct investment abroad, Portfolio investment assets, financial derivative assets, and other investment assets.

The bar chart shows that Australian investment to Southeast Asia grew from 19 billion in 2003 to 125 billion in 2019. There was a drop in 2020 and 2021 to around 95 billion, and grew again in 2021 to 106 billion.

The ratio of investment types changes over time with Portfolio investments showing the most growth as a proportion of the total and Financial derivative assets remaining the smallest.

Of importance, the key investment category of direct investment abroad falls from 2019 to 2022.

Figure 1.6 ASEAN's share of FDI stock with Australia 2003-2021 

The line chart has two lines: one showing the percentage of FDI from Australia to ASEAN and the other showing the percentage of FDI from ASEAN to Australia over time.

From left to right the chart starts at 2003 and ends in 2022. Both lines start at 3 per cent and trend upwards at a similar level until 2019.

From 2019, the percentage of FDI from Australia to ASEAN drops from 6 per cent to 2.9 per cent. Whereas the percentage of ASEAN’s FDI to Australia stays roughly the same over the period at 5.2 per cent to 2022.

Figure 1.7 Southeast Asia's share of global inwards FDI stocks 2003-2021

The line chart has one line that shows how Southeast Asia’s share of global FDI stocks increases over time.

From left to right, the line starts at 3.6 per cent in 2003 increasing over time to 6.9 per cent in 2021.

Figure 1.8 Stocks of FDI into selected ASEAN countries at year-end by source country 2016-2020

The line chart has six lines representing different countries (Australia, Canada, China, Japan, United Kingdom and United States) and their FDI stocks at year-end over time, measured in millions (US dollars).

From left to right, the chart begins in 2016 with the US at 239 billion, Japan at 174 billion, UK at 81 billion, China at 41 billion, Australia at 18 billion and Canada at 15 billion. In 2020, FDI stock for the US were 462 billion, Japan 255 billion, the UK at 121 billion, China 76 billion, Canada at 60 billion and Australia at 22 billion.

It shows that Australia’s investment into Southeast Asia has largely flatlined between 2016-20, while investment from the other countries listed into Southeast Asia has grown significantly.

Figure 1.9 Nominal GDP of Southeast Asian economies, 2022 (estimate) and 2040 (forecast)

The stacked column bar chart shows current and projected nominal GDP for Southeast Asian economies measured in billions (US dollars).

The chart has two columns. Starting from the left, the first column has estimated GDP values in 2022 and the next column has projected GDP values in 2040.

The left bar shows that, cumulatively, all listed Southeast Asian economies (Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Loa PDR, Brunei and Timor-Leste) in 2022 have a GDP of 3.6 trillion (US dollars).

The right bar shows that, cumulatively, the listed Southeast Asian economies are projected to have a GDP of 14 trillion (US dollars).

Each bar is divided into segments representing the GDP of each listed country. Side by side the bars show how each country’s GDP, as well as the total Southeast Asia GDP, is projected to grow from 2022 to 2040. Indonesia maintains its position as the largest economy but otherwise the rankings change dramatically from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam and Singapore in equal fourth position, to Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand.

Based on the projected GDP data, the chart shows that Southeast Asian economies will have a 4 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) on average.

Figure 1.10 Number of Southeast Asian and Australian households with disposable income of more than US$15,000 per annum (constant), 2022 and 2040 (forecast)

Country 2022 2040 2040 world ranking
Indonesia 13.0m 63.1m 4
Philippines 5.6m 30.2m 11
Vietnam 2.8m 19.7m 16
Thailand 4.9m 17.8m 20
Australia 9.1m 11.4m 28
Malaysia 5.6m 9.6m 31
Singapore 1.7m 2.2m 74
Cambodia 0.2m 2.2m 75
Laos 0.1m 0.5m 100

Next to Indonesia there is an arrow and text indicating the change from 2022 to 2040 is an additional 50 million households or 9.2 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Next to Australia there is an arrow and text indicating from 2022 to 2040 there will be an additional 2.2 million households or 1.2 per cent CAGR.

Infographic: Figure 2.1 Australia's participation in regional economic architecture

Infographic showing Australia’s participation in regional economic agreements with other countries using overlapping shapes in various shades of purple.

The countries in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) 2022 are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Japan and China.

The countries in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) 2018 are Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Canada, Chile, Mexico, and Peru.

The countries in the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) 2010 are Australia, New Zealand, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Laos, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The countries in the East Asia Summit (EAS) are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, United States and Vietnam.

The economies in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Peru, New Zealand, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United States and Vietnam.

The countries in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. There is a dotted line around this grouping denoting that IPEF is under negotiation.

The countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Brunei, Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Cambodia, Singapore and Malaysia.

Australia and Indonesia are in the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) 2020.

Australia and Singapore are in the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) 2003, Australia-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (DEA) 2020, and Singapore-Australia Green Economy Agreement (GEA) 2022.

Australia and Malaysia are in the Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement (MAFTA) 2013.

Australia and Thailand are in the Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) 2005.

There is an asterix denoting G20 membership applied to Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Australia, Canada, Mexico, the United States, India and Russia.

Infographic: Figure 2.2 People connections

Map of Southeast Asia and Australia with five groups of figures linked in a circle representing Southeast Asian students at Australian institutions in Southeast Asia, Australian workers in Southeast Asia, Southeast Asian alumni of Australian institutions, Southeast Asian diaspora in Australia and Southeast Asian students in Australia.

Infographic: Figure 3.1 Australia’s top agricultural imports and exports with Southeast Asia, by value, 2022

Australia’s Top Agricultural Imports from Southeast Asia in 2022

Australia’s Top Agricultural Exports to Southeast Asia in 2022

Edible products and preparations - $1.3 billion Wheat - $6.3 billion
Seafood, prepared or preserved – $713.3 million Cotton – $2.8 billion
Crustaceans – $415.8 million Beef – $1.2 billion
Cereal preparations - $382.5 million Meat (excluding beef) – $854.3 million
Animal feed – $291.6 million Milk, cream, whey, and yoghurt – $775.7 million
Cocoa - $291.2 million Live animals (excluding seafood) – $734.7 million
Wood, simply worked – $270.4 million Sugars, molasses, and honey – $639.7 million
Fixed vegetable oils and fats – $262.1 million Fruit and Nuts – $589.7 million
Tobacco, manufactured – $249.1 million Cereal preparations – $500.7 million
Fruit and Nuts - $206.5 million Animal fats and oils – $430.3 million
Total agricultural imports – $5.8 billion Total agricultural exports - $17.5 billion

Figure 4.1 Australia's resources exports to Southeast Asia 2018-2022

The bar chart has five columns measured in billions (Australian dollars). The columns depict the value of Australia's resources exports to Southeast Asia each year from 2018 to 2022.

Moving from left to right the chart shows a small growth trend in the value of exports from 15.7 billion in 2018, to 16.8 billion in 2019 and 17.1 billion in 2020. Growth is more rapid in the last two years depicted, with the value of exports jumping to 22.6 billion in 2021 and to 31.3 billion in 2022.

Figure 4.2 Potential revenue from selected critical minerals in Southeast Asia 2020-2050 (US$ billion)

The stacked column bar chart shows potential revenue in billions (US dollars) from selected critical minerals and energy transition metals in Southeast Asia.

From left to right, there are three columns, one for each year (2020, 2030 and 2050 ) with the height of each bar representing the total potential revenue from all the selected critical minerals and energy transition metals.

Each bar is further broken down into four categories: nickel, copper, tin, and rare earth elements.

The bar chart shows that total potential revenue in 2020 across all categories is 24.1 billion. The chart shows a large increase in potential revenue from 2020 to 2030, when potential revenue more than doubles to 53.6 billion, after which growth is much steadier increasing to 59 billion in 2050.

The largest contributor to potential revenue throughout is nickel, followed by copper, tin and lastly rare earth elements. In 2050, rare earth elements overtake tin for third position.

Infographic: Figure 5.1 Southeast Asian countries’ and Australia’s emissions reduction and net zero targets

Country

Unconditional Emissions Target

Conditional Emissions Target

Net Zero Target

Australia 43 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030   Net Zero by 2050
Brunei  20 per cent below BAU by 2030   Net Zero by 2050
Cambodia   41.7 per cent below BAU by 2030 Carbon neutral by 2050
Indonesia 31.9 per cent below BAU by 2030 43.2 per cent below BAU by 2030 Net zero by 2060 or sooner
Laos 60 per cent below BAU by 2030   Net zero by 2050 (conditional)
Malaysia 45 per cent fall in emissions intensity of GDP below 2005 levels by 2030   Net zero by 2050
Philippines 2.71 per cent below BAU by 2030 72.3 per cent below BAU by 2030  
Singapore Reduce emissions to around 60 Mt CO2-e in 2030   Net zero by 2050
Thailand 30 per cent below BAU by 2030 40 per cent below BAU by 2030 and peak emissions Carbon neutral by 2050

 

Net zero by 2050

Vietnam 15.8 per cent below BAU by 2030 43.5 per cent below BAU by 2030 Net zero by 2050

Figure 5.2 Estimated demand for renewable energy in Southeast Asia, 2020–2050

The line chart has two lines moving from left to right, starting at 2020 and ending in 2050. The chart is measuring Southeast Asia’s estimated renewable energy demand in Terawatt-hours under two different policy settings.

The first line represents estimated demand under current policy settings and shows a demand of 255 Terawatt-hours in 2020. This value increases to 794 Terawatt-hours in 2040, and 1121 Terawatt-hours in 2050.

The second line represents the trajectory required to meet Paris climate targets. This line also starts with a demand of 255 in 2020. It increases at a higher rate compared to the first line, reaching 1640 Terawatt-hours in 2040 and ending at 2608 Terawatt-hours in 2050.

Figure 6.1 Infrastructure investment need by sector 2023-2040

The stacked column bar chart shows infrastructure investment needs by sector across seven Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore).

From left to right, each bar represents a country with the bar height reflecting the total value of investment needed from 2023 to 2040 for that country in billions (US dollars).

Each bar is further broken down into six sectors: telecommunications, airports, ports, rail, roads, water.

The bar chart shows that Indonesia needs the most infrastructure investment at 859 billion. Vietnam and the Philippines have requirements of 267 billion and 242 billion respectively, followed by Malaysia requiring 217 billion and Thailand 204 billion dollars. Cambodia and Singapore require the least at 49 and 44 billion dollars respectively.

Roads are the sector requiring the most investment in each country, followed by telecommunications and water.

Figure 6.2 World Economic Forum infrastructure quality scores (out of 100)

The horizontal bar chart ranks each country (Cambodia, Philippines, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Malaysia, Australia, and Singapore) by their World Economic Forum Global Infrastructure Quality Scores.

The chart has also included the East Asia and Pacific Average scores for comparison.

From top to bottom, each bar represents a country with the length of the bar reflecting their score. The scores are plotted on an x - axis from 0 to 100.

The chart goes from the lowest score at the top to the largest score at the bottom, with the longest bar representing the highest quality infrastructure.

Reading the chart from the top, that is from the lowest to highest quality infrastructure, the rankings are, Cambodia (55), Philippines (58), Laos (59), Vietnam (66), Indonesia (68), Thailand (68), Brunei (70), East Asia and Pacific Average (75), Malaysia (78), Australia (79), and Singapore (95).

Figure 6.3 Private participation in infrastructure in select Southeast Asian countries, by sector, 2002–2022

The stacked column bar chart shows private participation in infrastructure in select Southeast Asian countries from 2002 to 2022 in terms of the number of projects by sector and total investment value in billions (US dollars).

From left to right, each bar represents a country (Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Timor-Leste). The height of the bar represents the number of the projects, with the figure written above each bar indicating the total value of all investments in the country.

The Philippines and Indonesia have the most projects, at 43 and 36 respectively, followed by Vietnam at 26 Malaysia at 25, Thailand at 16, Cambodia at 7, Laos at 3 and Timor-Leste with 2.

The segments making up each bar represent 7 infrastructure categories: municipal solid waste, water and sewerage, roads, railways, ports, ICT, airports.

Most infrastructure projects are in roads and water, followed by ports and municipal solid waste.

The tabular from the chart is as follows:

Countries Number of projects Total Investment Value (US Dollar billions) Municipal Solid Waste Water and Sewerage Roads Railways Ports ICT Airports
Philippines 43 $13.8 $4 $10 $13 $2 $7 $3 $4
Indonesia 36 $21.4 $1 $11 $14 $2 $3 $3 $2
Vietnam 26 $5.8 $4 $5 $8 0 $7 $2 0
Malaysia 25 $8.5 $5 $5 $9 $2 $3 $0 $1
Thailand 16 $4.6 $6 $6 $0 $2 $1 $0 $1
Cambodia 7 $1.1 0 $1 $2 $1 $0 $1 $2
Laos 4 $5.8 $0 $0 $0 $1 $2 $1 $0
Timor-Leste 3 $0.5 $0 $0 $0 $0 $1 $2 $0

For most countries, water and roads make up more than three quarters of the number of projects.

Infographic: Figure 7.1 Australian branch campuses in Southeast Asia

Map of Southeast Asia indicating the locations of Australian university branch campuses.

Vietnam has RMIT Hanoi in Hanoi and RMIT South Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City.

Malaysia has the University of Wollongong Malaysia in Penang and Shah Alam, Monash University Malaysia in Subang Jaya, Curtin University Malaysia in Miri and Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak in Kuching.

Singapore has Murdoch Singapore, Curtin Singapore, Newcastle Australia Institute of High Education and James Cook University Singapore.

Indonesia has Monash University Indonesia in Jakarta.

Figure 10.1 Internet users in Southeast Asia as a proportion of the total population 2000-2021

This line chart plots the percentage of internet users in the Southeast Asian population over time.

The chart has one line moving from left to right. The horizontal axis has years from 2000 to 2021 and the vertical axis has per cent values from 0% to 70%.

From the left, the line begins at the year 2000 with 2.5 per cent of the population using internet, gradually increasing to 13.8 per cent by year 2009. There after the rate of increase is steeper, reaching 65.1 by 2021.

The chart shows that the Southeast Asia population has an increasingly high number of internet users as a percentage of population.

Figure 11.1 Southeast Asian countries' financial and insurance services exports by value and as a percentage of total services exports 2021

The column bar chart shows the percentage of services exports by value attributable to financial and insurance services for five Southeast Asian countries in 2021.

From left to right, there are five bars representing Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines respectively.

The heigh of each bar represents the total value of financial and insurance service exports measured in billions (US dollars). The vertical axis indicates the US dollar value and the percentage figure is written above each bar.

The following table shows the chart in tabular form.

Country Total value (US$ billion) As a percentage of total services exports
Singapore 47.63 17%
Indonesia 39.60 8%
Thailand 10.76 4%
Malaysia 10.04 5%
Philippines 2.11 1%

Figure 11.2 Projected revenue trend in digital financial services in Southeast Asia 2019-2025

The stacked column bar chart shows the projected trend in Southeast Asian digital financial services revenue in billions (US dollars) from 2019 to 2025.

The chart has two columns. From left to right, the first bar shows the total revenue from digital financial services was 11 billion in 2019. The second bar has total revenue projected to be 38 billion in 2025.

The increase in the height of the second bar represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22 per cent in total revenue from digital financial services.

Within each bar, revenue is split into six categories: Point-of-sale and value-added services (merchants), Digital investment, Digital insurance, Digital lending, Digital remittance, and Digital payments.

The sectors with the most growth are Point-of-sale and value-added services (merchants), followed by Digital investment, Digital Insurance and Digital lending.

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