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Southeast Asia's digital economy is among the world's fastest-growing: worth US$218 billion in 2023 and expected to reach US$600 billion by the end of the decade, at a compound annual growth rate of 16 percent.

To help the region's digital platform players achieve economies of scale, grow their asset portfolios, and advance along the corporate lifecycle, HSBC is announcing a unique, dedicated lending fund worth US$1 billion.

"Like so many other internationally minded businesses, we are excited about ASEAN's booming digital economy," said Amanda Murphy, Head of Commercial Banking for South and Southeast Asia at HSBC.

"With a working population that is digitally native, increasing in size, and poised to consume more goods and services–especially on e-commerce–ASEAN has so much potential for growth. We are delighted to launch our first-of-its-kind ASEAN Growth Fund and work with digital companies as they expand in the region and beyond", she added.

The HSBC ASEAN Growth Fund provides lending to companies that are scaling up through digital platforms across Southeast Asia. It supports new-economy names, more established corporates, and non-bank financial institutions by assessing operating metrics tied to their cashflow-generative asset portfolio, rather than relying solely on traditional financial metrics.

In ASEAN, Viet Nam is the fastest growing digital economy in 2022, 2023 and expected to maintain this position till 2025, currently led by e-Commerce, online tourism and online media.

With the forecast of smartphones users reaching 67.3 million by 2026, accounting for 96.9 percent Internet users, Viet Nam has become the rosy market for the digital industry and its both local and international players.

"ASEAN trade and FDI has been an integral part of the Viet Nam success story and looking into the future I am excited by the emerging opportunities it presents for the economy", shared Ahmed Yeganeh, Head of Wholesale Banking, HSBC Viet Nam.

"The statistics and momentum spell out the size of the opportunity and I am impressed by the growing Trade and FDI flows between Viet Nam and other ASEAN markets. Particularly relevant for Viet Nam is the growing digital economy which coupled with Viet Nam's consumption market, will I believe soon make the digital economy one of the key pillars for Viet Nam's growth story", he shared.

HSBC recently surveyed 600 companies operating in Southeast Asia and found that "digitalizing operations" is the top business priority, selected by 42 percent of the respondents. This is followed by "growth in Southeast Asia" (40 percent) and "research and development" (37 percent).

To help capture growth in the booming digital economy, nearly 2 in 3 respondents (65 percent) plan to increase their investment in the digitalization of their businesses, second only to "expanding into new markets within Southeast Asia" (66 percent)./.