Key facts
- Asian stock exchange leaders advocate for enhanced regional connectivity to attract investment.
- Developing Asia received $644 billion in FDI in 2025, representing 40% of global flows.
- South-East Asia emerged as the largest recipient subregion within developing Asia in 2025.
- India experienced a significant 44% increase in FDI inflows.
- Investment is increasingly targeting sectors like AI, advanced manufacturing, and energy transition.
Top executives from Asian stock exchanges convened at the Nikkei Asia Forum APAC 2026 in Bangkok, emphasizing the critical need for enhanced regional connectivity to attract and retain investment. They argued that stronger cross-border cooperation is essential for Asia's capital markets to capture growing global capital inflows and sustain economic growth.
The discussion highlighted findings from the Asian Economic Integration Report 2025, which underscores the significant role regional integration has played in Asia and the Pacific's growth over the past two decades. This integration has influenced trade, global value chains, foreign direct investment (FDI), finance, and migration.
Developing Asia continues to be a dominant destination for FDI among developing regions, attracting $644 billion in 2025, approximately 40% of global FDI and over 70% of flows to developing economies. However, the report notes a significant shift in where this investment is directed within the region. While China remains a major recipient, its inflows saw a decline, with South-East Asia emerging as the largest recipient subregion. India played a crucial role in this shift, recording a substantial 44% increase in FDI inflows.
Investment patterns are evolving as companies re-evaluate supply chains amid geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainty. There is a growing trend of investment flowing into sectors such as semiconductors, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and energy-transition technologies. Asian economies possess advantages like established manufacturing capacity and large consumer markets, but competition for capital is intensifying.
For policymakers, the focus should extend beyond incentives to include investment facilitation, strengthening supplier ecosystems, ensuring reliable energy and logistics, developing workforce skills, and fostering regional integration to connect smaller economies with larger production networks. These measures are crucial for translating investment inflows into industrial upgrading and broader development gains.