Illustrative image (Source:malaymail.com)

Kuala Lumpur – Vietnam is among the six ASEAN economies forecast to grow by 4.2 per cent in 2023, outpacing the global gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 2 per cent, according to Maybank Group president and chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli.

Opening the ongoing hybrid conference Maybank Invest ASEAN 2023 themed “ASEAN Reboot: Reimagining The Future” held by Maybank in Singapore from June 20-21, Ramli emphasised the resilience of ASEAN after the COVID-19 pandemic.

He noted that with a combined population of over 660 million and a collective GDP of almost 3.66 trillion USD in 2022, ASEAN ranks as the third largest regional economy in Asia and the fifth biggest economy in the world, after the US, China, Japan, and Germany.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to ASEAN rebounded in 2021 to 174 billion USD, up 42% from the previous year, reflecting the attractiveness of the region’s economy for global investors.

ASEAN’s resilience was evident in portfolio fund flows, he said, noting that “even when foreign investors pulled out of equities last year, there was a sufficiently deep domestic investor base in the region to absorb the volatility”.

Another area of optimism for the region's economy is on digitalisation, particularly in the financial service sector, he added.