2018 has unquestionably been a year of ups and downs.
If you asked anyone on 1 January 2018 to predict the year ahead, certainly no one would have given you a more dramatic set of events to set the stage for an even more exciting 2019.
In an ever more disruptive world, new threats as well as opportunities present themselves with the march of technology. Internet-based businesses and apps in ASEAN have matured this year, especially e-commerce platforms, which have seen incumbents like Lazada and Qoo10 strengthening their position in the wake of the 2018 holiday season shopping. New entrants in the market are focusing on mobile payment systems, which seek to emulate Alipay and Wechat Pay’s success in China.
For 2019, it is expected that these systems to mature and consolidate even more, with big players slowly differentiating themselves and services to become more streamlined. Following the model established in mature markets like the US, we will expect smaller players to either be acquired or forced out of the market.
Economically, 2018 has been steady overall, but storm clouds are brewing over the horizon. The headline event of the year for ASEAN has been the US-China trade war, which has the potential to trap the region in an unwanted cycle of high tariffs and low demand from two of the region’s largest trading partners. However, a truce has been called by both Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump to allow China and the US to negotiate the pain points between their relationship.
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