Global Opportunity Index 2022: Focus on Emerging Southeast Asia
This report uses the 2022 Global Opportunity Index (GOI) and its various categories to examine the attractiveness of emerging Southeast Asia as a foreign investment destination—especially when compared to other emerging markets and developing economies (EMDE). It also offers an in-depth look at the region’s recent experience with private capital flows (emphasizing their composition and evolution over the past decade), explores cross-border M&A activity, and discusses domestic companies’ participation in local capital markets. By offering a broad outlook on the region’s investment landscape, the report illuminates some of its relative strengths and weaknesses, thereby helping businesses make investment decisions and governments identify policies geared towards attracting foreign capital.
The report shows that when it comes to attracting foreign investors, emerging Southeast Asia compares well with other emerging markets and developing economies in the following two categories:
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Economic Fundamentals—especially Economic Performance, which accounts for a country’s macroeconomic outlook, and Workforce Talent, which captures the quality and diversity of the labor force.
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International Standards & Policy—most notably Economic Openness, which measures a country’s integration with the global economy.
Overall, the analysis indicates that emerging Southeast Asia is well positioned to attract foreign investors and—over the longer term—become an even bigger player among emerging markets and developing economies. However, to capitalize on these trends and stay competitive against other regions, policymakers in emerging Southeast Asia must take action to resolve some of the region’s weaknesses.
Our report offers three policy recommendations to address these shortcomings:
1. Better Institutional Frameworks
2. Deeper Regional Integration
3. Maximize Social Impact
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Read past Global Opportunity Index Reports
2021
Global Opportunity Index 2021: Focus on Latin America
2020
Global Opportunity Index 2020: Focus on the GCC Countries
2019
Global Opportunity Index: Emerging G20 Countries and Capital Flow Reversal
2018
Global Opportunity Index: A European Experience
Global Opportunity Index: Global Investors' Growing Focus on Asia
2017