ASEAN to become world’s No. 4 economy by 2030: Laos PM

A new economic order will emerge by 2030, with Southeast Asia taking on a central role, Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith told business leaders in his nation’s capital on September 5. “Studies have shown that the ASEAN economy is expected to grow at 7% per annum, with a GDP reaching $4.7 trillion in 2020, and the possibility of becoming the fourth-largest economy in the world by 2030,” Thongloun said in his opening remarks for the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, of which the Nikkei Asian Review is a strategic media partner. Laos, a landlocked country with borders touching Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, is this year’s chair of ASEAN, and Thongloun will host a leaders’ meeting in Vientiane from September 6. The Business and Investment Summit is a parallel event, with leaders and ministers making appearances to speak to the business community.

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