Southeast Asia: The Economic Outlook for 2026

Southeast Asia is expected to remain the world’s top destination for foreign direct investment in 2026, with maritime countries within the ASEAN bloc – Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and to a lesser extent the Philippines – expected to do well. However, mainland Southeast Asia is expected to lag as tensions over the Thai-Cambodian border continue to fester in the wake of a six-month conflict and as Myanmar’s military attempts to legitimize itself in the wake of elections widely derided as a sham. Laos will continue to struggle under crippling debt. Marcus Tantau, a senior associate at Templeton Research, spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt on a broad range of topics, including the election of To Lam as Vietnam’s president and Communist Party chief, and how regional leaders are faring, among them Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim, Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto, and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines.