Southeast Asia digital sales set to rise by 17% in 2026, research shows

By Reuters News

SINGAPORE, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Southeast Asia's total digital sales volume is expected to increase by 17% to $368 billion in 2026, according to the annual e-Conomy SEA 2026 report by Google, consulting firm Bain & Company and state investor Temasek.

  • The report predicted that the total value of goods and services sold through digital platforms, known as gross merchandise value, would continue growing by 13% annually and reach $1.14 trillion by 2035, with "substantial headroom" remaining

  • In 2025, there were 421 private funding deals for companies involved in the digital economy in Southeast Asia, down 28.4% from a year earlier

  • Southeast Asia's digital economy still attracted $21 billion in funding in the first half of 2026, up from $11 billion for the whole of 2025

  • The report attributed this surge to two large data centre deals, including an $11 billion deal involving STT GDC and a $5 billion deal involving DayOne

  • Built data centre capacity had also increased to 5.8 gigawatts by the first half of 2026, from 4 gigawatts at the end of 2025

  • The report noted Southeast Asia's adoption of AI has continued to lag the rest of the world, at 5 million AI tokens per capita. In comparison, the US consumed 60 million AI tokens per capita and Europe consumed 14 million AI tokens per capita

  • Total initial public offering proceeds in Southeast Asia climbed to $8.5 billion over the 12 months ended June 30, 2026, the report said, more than double the $3.6 billion in the prior period, driven by listing activity in Singapore and Malaysia

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