Domestic demand remains the primary driver of Asia’s growth, despite sharp acceleration in exports growth at the start of the year, according to ICAEW’s latest Economic Insight: South-East Asia report. Exports continue to be an important factor, as healthy foreign trade underpins domestic consumption and investment, particularly in East Asia. 

The region enjoyed robust GDP growth for the first half of 2017, driven mainly by domestic demand. In many countries, the contribution of net external trade to headline GDP growth was negative and was outpaced by import growth. Asia’s supply chain mechanisms and resilient domestic demand are likely to lead to import growth as exports and overall growth improve.