Indonesia’s economy shrank by 3.5 percent in the third quarter as the coronavirus surged through the country.
Many consumers in region used mobile shopping for first time this year as lockdowns hammered spending on trips: Survey.
Southeast Asia’s sizzling-hot internet economy cooled during the pandemic but spending online should bounce back rapidly and triple to more than $300 billion by 2025, research from Google, Temasek Holdings Pte and Bain & Co. shows.
The value of transactions in four key areas — e-commerce, travel, media and transport and food — should grow just $5 billion to about $105 billion in 2020, when many consumers turned to mobile shopping for the first time but lockdowns hammered spending on trips.
The region, home to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Lazada and Tencent Holdings Ltd.-backed Sea Ltd., will see a 63% increase in e-commerce gross merchandise value from 2019 as home-bound consumers picked up groceries and essentials from the likes of Lazada’s RedMart and Sea’s Shopee. Online shopping is now forecast to hit $172 billion by 2025 versus a previous $153 billion estimate, the research showed.
It’s “a clear indication that momentum has not been derailed by the year’s challenging environment,” according to the study, a closely watched annual review that covers six countries and serves as a benchmark for the region’s fast-growing internet industry.
[Bloomberg]
Demand for ride-hailing services collapsed globally, prompting the region’s two most valuable startups to cut jobs.
[Bloomberg]
E-commerce is driving growth in Indonesia, despite the devastating impact the pandemic has had on its overall economy. Southeast Asia’s largest economy fell into its first recession since the Asian financial crisis more than two decades ago in the third quarter. But Google, Temasek and Bain expect Indonesia’s digital economy to almost triple to $124 billion by 2025, though down from a previous estimate of $133 billion.
[Bloomberg]
“Untested peer-to-peer lenders targeting riskier payday loans and some smaller traditional lenders will face difficulties in the coming quarters,” the report said.
[Bloomberg]