Building confidence to execute investments across Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia Investment Deal Teams bought regional experts to Sydney in September to spotlight major investment opportunities in the region’s thriving economies.

It was a powerful reminder of the opportunities that open up when Australia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines work together.

The sheer scale of demand in Southeast Asia and the pace required for project delivery is staggering. The economies and populations in the region are growing rapidly; Southeast Asia is predicted to become the world’s fourth largest economy as a bloc by 2040.

Business-to-business insights

To promote exchange between asset owners and investors, Austrade partnered with DBS, the largest bank in Southeast Asia, to deliver the Invested 2040: Expert Perspectives on Delivering Investments in Key Southeast Asian Markets symposium.

Austrade CEO Dr Paul Grimes opened the symposium with a compelling keynote on Australia’s commitment to increase two-way trade and two-way investment between Australia and Southeast Asia.

Southeast Asia infrastructure specialists then shared insights into opportunities for Australian companies and investors to expand into the region. Among their key points:

• There remains a strong runway for more digital infrastructure investment. Infrastructure investment in ASEAN requires a nuanced approach.
• ASEAN’s data centre capacity remains underdeveloped, with Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia presenting strong growth potential. Some markets will require a 10-fold increase in provision. 
• Energy transition is occurring at pace and finding the right counterparts is key to executing greenfield projects.

Investment tips from expert investors

To build confidence around investment execution, experienced investors shared innovative investment structures, strategies to support project bankability, and pathways to deepen financial ecosystems. 

Seraya Partners, I Squared Capital, PTSMI and Monetary Authority of Singapore highlighted that:

• Governance and counterparty diligence are critical to ensure investors achieve their required returns. Across the region, due diligence norms are essentially the same as those in Australia.
• Indonesia’s plans to streamline state-owned enterprises and recycle assets will create investable opportunities across sectors from healthcare to renewables.
• The Monetary Authority of Singapore is playing an active role in shaping sustainable finance conditions through initiatives such as FAST-P (see below).

Australian investors learned about near-term opportunities to help finance Asia’s green transition through Singapore’s Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership (FAST-P).

Public-private blended finance partnerships promote investment

Together, Australia and Southeast Asia are unlocking the finance needed to build a greener, more resilient future.

Investment Deal Teams hosted a roundtable with Australian investors to outline the near-term opportunities being unlocked through Singapore’s Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership (FAST-P).

FAST-P brings together public, private and philanthropic capital to help finance Asia’s green transition. Australia is supporting this important initiative through $175 million in financing, including under the Australian Government’s Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility.

The event provided a unique opportunity to engage with FAST-P and highlighted broader energy transition opportunities across Southeast Asia and initiatives under Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040.

‘The Investment Deal Teams’ mission is to deepen ties between Australian superannuation and infrastructure investors and credible ASEAN partners,’ says Kirstyn Thomson, Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner, Austrade Singapore. ‘These discussions reinforced the critical value of regional partnerships and the importance of finding the right partners.’

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