Everybody is full of promise and passion. All this knowhow from abroad. Haslinda they are asean, the next generation. Haslinda welcome to bangkok, capital of thailand. Aseans secondlargest economy, a country like the rest of Southeast Asia that is navigating an incredible rise in the internet economy. A region pinning its hopes on a new, younger consumer class. With an average age of just 29, the youth are behind a booming middle class set to top 400 Million People by 2020. That is twice what it was just eight years ago. The past 30 years have changed so much. When i came here, me being a thai person that looks thai and doesnt speak hardly any thai. People looked at me so weirdly. I was like the ugly duckling. Fast forward, everybody is full of promise and passion. All this knowhow from abroad. We are seeing a lot of sea turtles come back. Meaning they are from thailand, asia, all over. They go abroad, and bring back all their knowledge and knowhow. So much passion to it. I think technology will only accelerate whatever you have currently. In a way that they make things faster, better, and cheaper. For asean, for that matter you , have young people. You have hardworking people. Very social. They want to solve problems. So technology will only be good in asia and asean. I like to say if you can make it in asean, you can probably make it anywhere. But not vice versa. All of a sudden instead of , having to go through traditional forms of building up networks or telecommunications networks, we will see 5g being for example being rolled out very quickly in the region. You will see huge amounts of digital consumption happening right from the getgo without that long curve that comes alongside with it. I think the critical period is the next two or three years in Southeast Asia. We are going to see this massive upswing in the next 1015 years. To 15 years. Both in terms of consumption and the development of the whole region. We are in a place where we have got a huge group of millennials coming back from where they have been educated. Getting exposure in different countries. At the same time, we have seen an upscaling of generations of workers that were never upscaled. We are in a generation of people that are much richer than weve ever been. Haslinda rachels father was the late malaysian real estate and investment tycoon. Together with two friends also from prominent families, shes building what she hopes will become Southeast Asias largest independent investment fund. For Southeast Asia, it will be the most interesting market and the most attractive market in the next 10 to years because 15 of the younger population. We have a generation shift in mindset in terms of politics. We have huge consumption which we have never seen. But also a highly educated , population that is migrating over. Not just Southeast Asia but people moving to Southeast Asia. I think that is something we forget about. Its not just the people on the ground who are already here. There are people who want to move over. With that, you will see more innovative ideas coming into this part of the world. If you think about it in the , last 60 years, asean has made a lot of progress in trade, gdp, to the tune of 20 to 30 times. This improvement can be accelerated with technology. Technology not only making faster, better, cheaper, for a lot of things you do, but it solves a lot of problems as well. Again, if you look at indonesia or asean, the infrastructure issues, the payment issues, the hr issues, the capability, the knowhow. Those can be saved a lot by technology. Investing in the talent over here in Southeast Asia, incredibly important for us. So we have just announced, for example, our Southeast Asia headquarters. We have announced a thin tech think tank hub for ourselves in malaysia. Right from the getgo, hundreds of hundreds of people eating trained. We are also bringing talent from the valley, talent from our European Headquarters over here. To get this whole cross pollination of different people. Thats the midterm plan. Really build up the talent across the entire region. Haslinda a rising asean entrepreneur, selfmade billionaire after the ipo of his gaming company. Born and educated in singapore, based in Silicon Valley. He is targeting Southeast Asia for the companys next growth. Southeast asia, a huge growth region for ourselves and the company. A very young population out here. Very tech savvy. Hungry, i think for huge amounts , of consumption, for entertainment. We think theres a huge opportunity for ourselves. Its really finding the right kind of product or service and cater to the population of the region. I would say we are 10 years behind china in terms of evolution in Digital Economy. But we are getting their much faster than any of our predecessors were. China or the u. S. Or the european nations. Coming into the Digital Economy. I think we are in the beginning but we are moving much faster , than weve ever seen in any other economies moved. Haslinda heres a sense of how connected Southeast Asia is. The philippines leads the world in time spent on social media. Indonesias number one for using and using mobile phones for ecommerce. Thais lead the pack when it comes to mobile phones. The way we consume the internet is very on the go. Very mobile. We are a lot more mobile as opposed to our previous generation. It has to be faster. It has to be more adaptive. It has to be intuitive. And so, it is not five steps. It is now two steps. You swipe and you go. Its quick. Its fast. Its got to be intuitive. I started getting in tech at lozadas. Internet penetration was like 20 in thailand alone. Today, its probably like 70 or 80 . The mobile penetration right now is like something ridiculous, 110 . That means everybody has 1. 5 phones each. We didnt have that 10 years ago. All of that happened just 10 years ago. Nowadays, my husband is from norway. He lives in thailand. He does not speak a word of thai. Thai. Zero he can get anywhere. Its not just the taxi guy. He can actually do business. He can go talk to lawyers. He can get new markets and whatnot. There is so much stuff that has happened. Thats just bangkok. Haslinda the size of Southeast Asias internet economy is expected to more than triple over the next five years. To a quarter of a trillion dollars, as penetration rates continue to rise. Thats next on asean, the next generation. Haslinda welcome back. For all the opportunities the Digital Economy promises the young, asean has still to i complete the journey. Because if it doesnt, the next generation risks getting old before getting rich. Internet penetration rates maybe be growing. And some asean countries, the percentage of people connected is quite high. Most of asean still lags behind the developed world. In indonesia, for example, those who have it use it heavily. Around 40 of the population dont have access at all. And then there is health and education. Is there a risk that indonesia could grow old before it gets rich . Yes. I think that is basically what a lot of people are saying. If you are not careful, you will be trapped as a middle income country. All these nice predictions about indonesia being number five, number seven in 20 to 30 years will be fantasy. Now, we are focusing on that. We should focus on the nittygrittys. The process, but also the soft infrastructure. People say demography is the key to success. But i think demography will also be the challenge to succeed if you dont fuel them with the right education, the right attitude. Haslinda the ceo of an indonesian Investment Company that oversees the family empire. With interest in everything from s in everything from mining to telecommunications. For inclusion to materialize, you need equitable education. How do you go about getting there . After the infrastructure which is the hard infrastructure , that we see, bridges, ports, roads, the next soft infrastructure will be health and education. But the question is, what kind of education will be fit for the industrialization . Thats the question. Not only we need to have good students, we also need to train trainers. I just came from a meeting where we were talking about, how do you bring education to the masses . I think that is one of the things that the millennials over here are obsessed with. Because it is not just about worklife balance. It is about work live, play, learn. The learning bit is something that does not come from the top down but bottoms up. You are seeing a lot of millennials, youth saying i want to be places where i can learn. I want to play. At the same time. Haslinda i just met with three startups today, all education. They are not waiting around for the reforms of the Thailand Ministry of education anymore. This is the same issue in indonesia. Same issue in the philippines. I mean, it is pretty much the same issue all over Southeast Asia. Basically, what they are doing is cutting out the regulations and basically going back to, what do you actually need to survive . A College Degree . Is ita College Degree . Is it university . Not everybody is going to be a mark zuckerberg. That is genius beyond recognition. But there are key skills that you could acquire for yourself to actually make a living. Haslinda shannon, who cofounded her run Successful Ecommerce site for women in 2012, now advises Venture Capital firms on Tech Startups in Southeast Asia. People ask me all the time, are we going to see a unicorn . Thailand doesnt even have good grants to incorporate a company here in thailand itself. All of us startups flock to singapore because of the grants. All the different initiatives they have. Thailand does not really have too many of those. Because of that, the first unicorn will be a Singapore Incorporated thai company. Haslinda the conversation today when it comes to startups is between Silicon Valley. Do you envision a time that Southeast Asia could be a big part of it . It is happening right now. Already you are seeing tech unicorns come up from the side of the world. Haslinda not to the extent as we are seeing in china, for instance. You will probably see that coming along ways in the next couple of years. You are seeing a lot more new Tech Startups come over on the this side of the world. Myself, coming back from the valley to see what else we can do to invest over here. We are investing in companies over here, startups over here. So, you know i do see huge , amounts of opportunity right here in Southeast Asia. I think it is going to be a massive opportunity. Haslinda weve talked about how Silicon Valley could be overtaken. Could Southeast Asia be a contender in that race at some point in time . I would say yes. So i have spoken to some guys, and they are moving some of their startups from the u. S. To vietnam. One of the reasons why is because you get very Skilled Labor for a quarter of the price. Cost is a big factor. We are more competitive in this part of the world. With highly Skilled Labor. I dont see why not. Haslinda what could hinder the development . Politics probably. We have to figure out how to deal with politics. How do we be more efficient in Foreign Workers movement . As Southeast Asia alone, we are not an integrated economy the same way europe is. An integrated economy in terms of labor. Its not great in terms of currencies. Theres highly volatile currencies that cannot decide where they need to be. Its really politics which then kind of decides the rest of the landscape for Southeast Asia. Haslinda the young the , millennials increasingly becoming a problem for governments, wanting to meet the respirations. What are some of the challenges . I think some of the governments see them as a problem. Some of the governments see them as an opportunity. The thing about the young, the millennials, they are not getting their news or information from traditional sources anymore. These are guys that dont go to the movies so much. They dont read newspapers or watch tv. Some of them dont even have a tv. Right . Literally, what are they doing . They are entertaining themselves playing games. They are comfortable using virtual credits. Over and above, they are learning information from social media and things like that. Many of the governments today are learning how to reengage with them. Haslinda in terms of contribution from the millennials, how would you quantify that and in what areas . This is an interesting question. Ive had this conversation with a lot of people. How malaysia is doing as an economy given the new policy political regime. Ive said it is doing better than its ever done which is at odds with pretty much every economist on the street. The reason is pretty simple. When i go to a boba tea shop, its packed. The line is a two hours wait. When i go to my nail salon, its a fivehour wait. When First Quarter gdp came up from malaysia this year, just from malaysia, we have seen First Quarter beat estimates. Its not infrastructure led. Its not public utilities. Its all private consumption. In terms of spending, theres a niche market which we have neglected. This is the millennials spending on consumption goods. Haslinda up next, seizing a onceinalifetime opportunity. What the future looks like through the eyes of asean the next generation. I believe the asean integration has gone on as good as it could be because we have to be realistic. The 10 countries within asean are at Different Levels of maturity. Its difficult to pull them together and say that its of one role. Its not possible to do that. Asean is going to be a big region. When you look at the growth, when you look at the demographics of people, these are all the factors that certainly support the growth in this area. When you look at diversity of the economy in the region, wow. , malaysia, singapore, indonesia, philippines, wow , you will see a lot of things come out of this region. The young people in cambodia , they are young, very initiated, and drive for education. I think moving to this digitized, industrialized economy like our government is talking about, we need to build the capacity. That is clear. That is why we have to Reform Department and how the industry in cambodia is going to be. Theres always the risk that some people get left behind. But i think if we all look at the goals together, i think we will move forward towards more inclusive growth for everyone. You have to remember, i think all of us realize that when the tide rises, all boats rise. We have to help each other achieve that. Haslinda no one really knows what asean will look like in 20 10, 15, or 20 years. But with foundations in place, the outlook is good. The challenge now is for the regions leaders to take the next step. Does the current leadership in Southeast Asia reflect the aspirations of the next generation . No. [laughter] again, youve got an average 70yearold cohort of politicians. And youve got an average 29yearold citizens. What they have seen or done in the past, i admire. Wholeheartedly. But i think there has been a lot of issues that they have not addressed. Haslinda such as . To your point, equitable education. What is equitable, and what is education . People meansto different things. The ways that we have made a livelihood. In malaysia, ive had this conversation with government officials multiple times. I said, invest in the tech economy. Because by investing in a Digital Economy, you will be able to create more jobs than you ever thought you would. Haslinda theres no questioning aseans progress. It has been good. An average gdp growth rate across the countries of more than 5 every year for 10 years. A Rising Consumer class, better wages, more jobs, more infrastructure. Booming ecommerce from a relatively low base. How do i envision Southeast Asia to be, very basic things. Have great infrastructure. Have great software. Have great regulatory systems. Political systems. We stamp out corruption and bribery altogether. We have greater governance. Theres more culpability to the people and stakeholders involved in the country as a whole. We move forward from playing politics and making politics about the personal ideals . Haslinda 10 years down the road, 20 years down the road, how will asean look like . I think asean will be more confident. Much more confident. Because the numbers will show. The number say in 10 years or 20 asean will be a 13 trillion u. S. Dollar economy. 13 trillion is about u. K. , france, and germany combined. When you have that kind of size, you are confident. We hope indonesia, as the owner of 40 of the market share today, can grow along with it. I believe in the next 15 years, you will see a massive explosion of the youth coming from Southeast Asia, traveling outside of Southeast Asia, a lot more startups coming within Southeast Asia. Haslinda what is your dream for asean 10 years down the road . I would love a common market. You know, throughout asean. I think it is important that asean recognizes that we are a huge market by ourselves. Unity is always important. Having a common market, i think that is something i would love to see. I would love to see over and plurality of Companies Moving across asean and working as common people. Haslinda on inclusion, sustainability, and connectivity, the last may yet mile may yet prove to be the biggest challenge. I feel that in terms of the hustle and drive and passion to solve the same mutual problems is poverty, which education, you know, sanitation, a lot of getting retail access to the provinces. We have the same kind of thing being able to have cheaper , sources of finance. Being able to pay your loans on time. We do all have the same obstacles, which means we are all trying to solve the same problems. But in terms of identity, we are i think we are all the same people. We have our own little whats the word for it . Quirks. It is us. This is our legacy. Rt not our parents o grandparents. There are too many things. The current Financial Institutions are not addressing. How do we address it from a millennial standpoint . From a younger Southeast Asia and standpoint . If the average age is 29 years old, then we are Southeast Asia. Not the, it is 60yearold or the 70yearold politicians who are in place right now. Its us. Its the new generation coming up. Haslinda for asean, the future is here. Riding the tide of rapid change. A once in a lifetime opportunity. Thanks for watching asean the next generation. Taylor from new york city for our viewers worldwide, im taylor riggs in for jonathan ferro. Bloomberg real yield starts now. Taylor coming up, president s trump and xi planning to meet amid hopes that they hit the pause button in their trade war. Failure to do so could hurt a Global Economy already showing signs of slowing down, adding pressure for a rate cut. And the lower for longer narrative sending investors on a hunt for yield. The u. S. Junkbond market rising to fresh record highs. We start with the big issue. Signs of opt