Two complementary surveys in 2025 offer a synchronised read on Southeast Asia’s confidence at a time of transition. UOB’s ASEAN Consumer Sentiment Study (ACSS) 2025, conducted from May to June this year in partnership with global management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group, captures how consumers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam perceive the economy, their own financial position and their spending behaviours and intentions. The ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute’s State of Southeast Asia (SSEA) 2025 survey, by contrast, takes the region’s pulse from the top down: opinion leaders and thought leaders across all ASEAN countries assess regional priorities, strategic developments and major-power dynamics. Read together, these surveys draw the same contour lines from different vantage points. The region’s macro story remains one of resilience. Yet confidence is uneven and highly sensitive to external factors—particularly inflation, climate shocks and the evolving postures of the two biggest global powerhouses, the United States and China.
Reading ASEAN’s Sentiments in a Year of Crosswinds | FULCRUM
