Japan still leads in Southeast Asia infrastructure race, even as China ramps up belt and road investments: report
- Japanese-backed projects in the region’s six largest economies – Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – are valued at US$367 billion, compared with China’s US$255 billion, the figures show
Japan is still leading the Southeast Asia infrastructure race against China, with pending projects worth almost one-and-a-half times its rival, according to the latest data from Fitch Solutions.
Japanese-backed projects in the region’s six largest economies – Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – are valued at US$367 billion, the figures show. China’s tally is US$255 billion.
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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has estimated that Southeast Asia’s economies will need US$210 billion a year in infrastructure investment from 2016 to 2030, just to keep up the momentum in economic growth.
The latest Fitch figures, count only pending projects – those at the stages of planning, feasibility study, tender and currently under construction.
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Across all of Southeast Asia and by number of projects, Japan also carries the day, though by a smaller margin: 240 infrastructure ventures have Japanese backing, versus 210 for China in all 10 Southeast Asian economies.