SINGAPORE - Southeast Asia’s internet economy will hit $105 billion this year, as the coronavirus crisis prompted stuck-at-home consumers to go online to shop, get food delivered at home and for entertainment purposes, an industry report said on Tuesday.
The report, which covers Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines, said the region added 40 million new internet users this year, taking the total to 400 million. That implies 70% of the region’s population is now online, the report added. Singapore’s internet economy contracted 24% to $9 billion as the pandemic choked the travel sector, while Vietnam and Indonesia continued to grow at double-digit rates.
With an 11% increase in online users, Southeast Asia is one of the world’s fastest growing internet markets. That compares with around 4.7 billion internet users worldwide, up 7.4% from a year ago, according to wearesocial.com, a digital monitoring service.