SINGAPORE, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The ASEAN-5 economies of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam recorded a combined trade surplus of 156.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2025, extending an 11-year growth trend and underscoring the region's growing importance in global trade, UOB Global Economics and Markets Research said on Wednesday.
The research house said in a note the ASEAN-5's trade surplus had maintained a steady upward trajectory since 2014, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3 percent over the period.
Intra-ASEAN trade also remained resilient, generating a surplus of 63 billion dollars, supported by increasingly integrated regional supply chains, it said.
"Greater regional integration can further enhance industrial upgrading, value-added production, and supply-chain resilience, allowing ASEAN to strengthen its role as a key driver of global trade and investment flows," it added.
The export and import data suggest that the ASEAN-5's strength lies not only in the scale of its trade but also in the complementarity of its economic structures, according to the research house.
Indonesia leads in resource-based exports and downstream manufacturing, while Singapore serves as a regional trading and refining hub. Malaysia has strengthened its position in the electronics and commodities value chains, Thailand remains a key automotive production base, and Vietnam continues to expand as a global manufacturing platform.
"Together, these strengths reinforce ASEAN's position within global value chains," UOB noted.
It said it had revised its long-term ASEAN trade projections higher following a stronger-than-expected 13.7 percent expansion in 2025, driven by a structural upcycle in electronics and semiconductors amid robust artificial intelligence-related demand.
Total ASEAN trade is now projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.7 percent between 2025 and 2035, reaching 6.6 trillion dollars by 2030, compared with an earlier projection of 5.3 trillion dollars, and exceeding 9 trillion dollars by 2035, against the previous forecast of 7.1 trillion dollars. ■
