HSBC Eyes ASEAN Growth, Allocates USD 1bn to Scale Up Digital Platform Businesses in the Region

Today HSBC announced a USD1 billion ASEAN Growth Fund to help scale up platform players in the region’s booming digital economy.

Southeast Asia’s digital economy is among the world’s fastest-growing: worth USD218 billion in 2023 and expected to reach USD600 billion by the end of the decade, at a compound annual growth rate of 16%.[1]

To help the region’s digital platform players achieve economies of scale, grow their asset portfolios, and advance along the corporate lifecycle, HSBC is announcing a unique, dedicated lending fund worth USD1 billion.

“Like so many other internationally minded businesses, we are excited about ASEAN’s booming digital economy,” said Amanda Murphy, Head of Commercial Banking for South and Southeast Asia at HSBC. “With a working population that is digitally native, increasing in size, and poised to consume more goods and services – especially on e-commerce – ASEAN has so much potential for growth. We are delighted to launch our first-of-its-kind ASEAN Growth Fund and work with digital companies as they expand in the region and beyond.”

The HSBC ASEAN Growth Fund provides lending to companies that are scaling up through digital platforms across Southeast Asia. It supports new-economy names, more established corporates, and non-bank financial institutions by assessing operating metrics tied to their cashflow-generative asset portfolio, rather than relying solely on traditional financial metrics.

Separately, HSBC is introducing venture debt to the Singapore market, earmarking USD150 million to provide financing to scaling, high-growth companies in Singapore that are backed by venture capital or private-equity investors.

Ms Murphy continues, “HSBC has a proud history and strong heritage in ASEAN of supporting entrepreneurs and scaling up businesses. The introduction of our latest offerings allows us to better support new-economy companies in ASEAN, whether they are start-ups or scale-ups, as they expand across the region and advance along the corporate lifecycle.”

HSBC recently surveyed 600 companies operating in Southeast Asia and found that “digitalising operations” is the top business priority, selected by 42% of the respondents. This is followed by “growth in Southeast Asia” (40%) and “research and development” (37%).

To help capture growth in the booming digital economy, nearly 2 in 3 respondents (65%) plan to increase their investment in the digitalisation of their businesses, second only to “expanding into new markets within Southeast Asia” (66%).

“Rapid digital adoption in ASEAN means businesses increasingly – and understandably – need fuss-free digital banking to support their growth. They want convenient and simple-to-use trade and payment solutions that would free up more time for them to focus on strategy and expansion,” Ms Murphy added.

HSBC is at the forefront of driving digital transformation in ASEAN, offering a range of digital transaction banking solutions such as TradePay[2] and Omni Collect[3], enabling clients more time to focus on business priorities and development in the region.