Grab co-founder Tan Hooi Ling. According to CB Insights data, Grab is the highest-valued tech company in the Southeast Asian region. Photo by World Economic Forum / Sikarin Thanachaiary via CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license

According to a new report penned by Google, Temasek and Bain & Co, the Southeast Asian internet economy is expected to surpass $100 billion for the first time ever this year, up 39% from $72 billion last year. Google, Temasek and Bain & Co have been releasing annual reports and trends on Southeast Asia’s internet economy for some years now, and have been reputable and highly-cited sources for statistics on the Southeast Asian internet economy. According to the newly released report, Southeast Asia’s internet economy is further expected to triple to $300 billion by 2025.

Southeast Asia’s internet economy is fueled by growth in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, the six largest internet markets in the region. This should be no surprise, with the influx and growth of both new and existing tech companies in the region. Take for instance; Grab, Trax, Tokopedia, Traveloka, Go-Jek and the Sea Group, six Southeast Asian companies collectively valued in the billions. According to the Google-Temasek-Bain report, more than 100 million users were added to Southeast Asia’s internet economy over the past four years. The report says the value of Southeast Asia’s e-commerce sector currently stands at $38 billion, up from $5.5 billion in 2015, and on track to hit $150 billion by 2025. It also says more than 40 million people in Southeast Asia now make use on on-demand/ride-hailing services, up 400% from just 8 million in 2015.

Google-Temasek-Bain said digital payments in the Southeast Asian market is set to grow from $600 billion in 2019 to more than $1 trillion by 2025. According to their report, funding for companies in the Southeast Asian market have remained steady despite global headwinds. Internet companies in Southeast Asia are said to have raised a collective $7.6 billion in the first half of this year, 7% more than in the same period last year.

“Southeast Asia has an incredibly exciting digital economy, as consumers are turning to digital to complete millions of tasks daily, resulting in unprecedented growth.” Google SEA Managing Director Stephanie Davis said in a statement. “However, there’s more to be done to realize digital’s incredible potential. Whether it’s providing support for small businesses to grow, teaching Southeast Asians digital skills, expanding Internet access to more people or advocating for smart policy and regulation, we’re looking forward to helping bring the benefits of technology to millions more people across this dynamic region.” She added.