GROWTH IN SOUTH-EAST ASIAN ECONOMIES WAS POLARIZED BY THE AI HEAT AND ENERGY SHOCKS

IN THE CONTEXT OF THE AI BOOM AND ENERGY SHOCKS, THE GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF THE SOUTH-EAST ASIAN ECONOMIES WAS POLARIZED. VIET NAM CONTINUES TO BE THE LARGEST GROWING ECONOMY IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA, WHILE THAILAND IS WEAK. MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE RANKED SECOND AND THIRD AND BENEFITED FROM STRONG DEMAND FOR SEMICONDUCTORS AND OTHER COMPONENTS IN THE GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY SUPPLY CHAIN. LIKE THAILAND, THE PHILIPPINES HAS BEEN AFFECTED BY THE SOARING ENERGY COSTS CAUSED BY THE MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT. IN ADDITION, THE SHARP DECLINE IN INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING HAS FURTHER SLOWED GROWTH IN THE PHILIPPINES. DEVELOPING ECONOMIES WITH KEY FIRMS IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN ASSOCIATED WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE HAVE SHOWN GREATER RESILIENCE, WHILE THOSE MORE VULNERABLE TO EXPENSIVE IMPORTED ENERGY HAVE GRADUALLY LOST POWER. ASTRONOMER BANKING ECONOMISTS HAVE STATED THAT GROWTH PERFORMANCE VARIES FROM COUNTRY TO COUNTRY, DEPENDING ON THEIR DEGREE OF DOMESTIC RESILIENCE IN RESPONSE TO THE MIDDLE EAST CRISIS AND THEIR DEPENDENCE ON TECHNOLOGY EXPORTS IN THE TRADE STRUCTURE。