ASEAN’s Next Growth Test Is Capability, Not Investment Alone

Singapore, 25 September 2026 – ASEAN businesses need more than fresh capital to benefit from expanding trade and investment, Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said at a regional forum. Automation is weakening the old advantage of low labour costs, while digital platforms create both new customers and new competitors. The implication for investors is that the size of an inflow says less about durable returns than a local company’s ability to absorb technology and move up the value chain.

Speaking in Singapore at the FutureChina Global Forum, Gan argued that enterprises need stronger capabilities and workers need skills suited to changing roles. China–ASEAN trade exceeded US$1 trillion for the first time in 2025, according to official figures cited at the event. The two sides recorded US$744.4 billion in trade during the first seven months of 2026, while ASEAN accounted for almost 22% of China’s total foreign trade over that period.