Five-fold GDP Growth Positions ASEAN for Next Wave of Digital Investment, New GSMA Report Finds

GSMA launches 'Digital Nations 2025: Achieving the ASEAN Connectivity Strategic Plan' at Digital Nation Summit Kuala Lumpur; study sets out three-step agenda to bridge region's infrastructure gap

23 September 2025, Kuala Lumpur: The ASEAN markets are at a digital crossroads, with mobile technologies set to shape the region's next wave of growth. A new GSMA report calls on governments and industry to close critical policy, infrastructure and skills gaps to deliver on ASEAN's digital ambitions and the ASEAN Connectivity Strategic Plan.Digital Nations 2025: Achieving the ASEAN Connectivity Strategic Plan, calls on governments and industry to close critical policy, infrastructure and skills gaps to deliver on ASEAN's digital ambitions and the ASEAN Connectivity Strategic Plan.

Launched today at the GSMA Digital Nation Summit Kuala Lumpur (ASEAN Edition), the study sets out three priorities to accelerate progress: boosting investment in 5G, fibre and cloud infrastructure; harmonising data, trade and cyber-security frameworks to enable seamless cross-border services; and strengthening regional and international cooperation to share expertise and build capacity.

Tracing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)'s transformation since 2000 the report, based on the GSMA Intelligence Digital Nations Index, highlights the bloc's economic rise from USD 737 billion to more than USD 4 trillion in 2024 - growth that could be multiplied through digital innovation.

In parallel, GSMA also announced its new flagship convening for the region, M360 ASEAN,which will be held next year on 9-10 September 2026 at the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, under the theme 'Aligning Policy, Power & Progress'.

Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific, GSMA, said: "ASEAN has already delivered a five-fold expansion in economic output this century, yet our Digital Nations research shows that progress is uneven. Singapore leads the 2025 ASEAN digital readiness index, with scores across the region showing a broad range of preparedness levels. ASEAN has advanced in digital adoption, but gaps in readiness, regulation, and skills remain. Member states should strengthen digital ecosystems by addressing these challenges.

The Kuala Lumpur edition of the Digital Nation Summit (DNS), supported by MCMC, brings together policymakers, industry leaders and regional institutions to directly address these gaps. Sessions are focused on investment, skills, and innovation priorities, with outcomes designed to inform broader policy conversations - including those to be advanced at M360 ASEAN 2026.

The GSMA's Chief Financial Officer, Louise Easterbrook, said in today's opening keynote:"The ASEAN digital economy is a story of explosive growth and boundless potential. But to maintain this competitive advantage the region must further refine and accelerate its coordinated approach to economic policy and infrastructure investment. The choices we make today on affordability, skills and trust are vital if we are to digitally transform the day-to-day lives of the 680 million people in the region. We need governments to be the architects, the mobile industry to be the engineers and innovators, and all of us, as a community, to work together at every level, to build this future."

The report stresses that converting today's four-trillion-dollar economy into tomorrow's digitally powered opportunity demands concerted action on three fronts. First, the region must channel far greater investment into 5G, fibre and cloud infrastructure. Second, it should align data, trade and cyber-security rules so that services flow seamlessly across borders. Third, deeper international and intra-ASEAN co-operation is required to share expertise and build capacity where it is most needed. Collective progress on these priorities will enable every community, business and government in South-East Asia to realise the full promise of the digital age.

The study notes that 2025 is a pivotal year, with several existing development frameworks concluding and a new ASEAN Connectivity Strategic Plan 2026-2035 in preparation. Implementing the report's recommendations, GSMA Intelligence contends, will be critical to meeting the ambitions of the forthcoming plan and the wider ASEAN Community Vision 2045.

Key findings from Digital Nations 2025

• ASEAN's GDP expanded from USD 737 billion in 2000 to just over USD 4 trillion in 2024.

• Singapore leads the 2025 Digital Nations Index with an aggregate score of 88 / 100; Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand each score above 60.

• On average, the "people" component records the strongest performance across ASEAN; "infrastructure" and "innovation" remain comparatively weaker.

• The region faces a mobile-internet usage gap of approximately 285 million people, representing more than two in every five citizens.

• GSMA Intelligence sets out three principal measures to improve digital readiness: bridge the infrastructure gap; accelerate regional policy harmonisation; and leverage international cooperation mechanisms.

Building on the momentum of DNS Kuala Lumpur, GSMA confirmed that M360 ASEAN 2026 will take place on 9-10 September at the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur. Under the theme 'Aligning Policy, Power & Progress', the event will explore how Southeast Asia can strengthen digital sovereignty and secure infrastructure. The programme will convene telecom leaders, policymakers and regional institutions to translate ASEAN's digital ambitions into cohesive, future-ready outcomes.

Digital Nations 2025: Achieving the ASEAN Connectivity Strategic Plan - is available to download here.

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About the GSMA
The GSMA is a global organisation unifying the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop, and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change. Our vision is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry, and society thrive. Representing mobile operators and organisations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMA delivers for its members across three broad pillars: Connectivity for Good, Industry Services and Solutions, and Outreach. This activity includes advancing policy; tackling today's biggest societal challenges; underpinning the technology and interoperability that make mobile work; and providing the world's largest platform to convene the mobile ecosystem at the MWC and M360 series of events.

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