K 2019: Southeast Asia economy report
The Asian region is buckling down on major trends and issues to a future ‘perfect’ economic growth, which will lead to a ripple effect in the on plastics industry, according to research.
Sluggish trade growth is expected on the heels of further trade restrictions and policy uncertainties, and according to the OEC, the global economy is likely to expand from 3.3 per cent in 2019 to 3.4 per cent in 2020, down from the 3.5 per cent it had projected for both years last year.
In China, OECD’s forecast remains close to 2018, with a forecast growth of 6.2 per cent in 2019 from 6.3 per cent.
While India’s growth wound down to 7.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2018, it is expected to grow at 7.3 per cent in the fiscal year 2018-19, and 7.5 per cent in the following two years, according to the World Bank.
Bracing for further headwinds in the months to come, mature economies are looking towards Southeast Asian countries, even against the Bank of America Merrill Lynch forecast of a slowdown in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, with growth falling slightly to 4.8 per cent in 2019, from five per cent in 2018.
As a single market, Southeast Asia is very attractive for key industries, including automotive, packaging, construction and medical devices.
The region is also embracing salient issues relating to fuel efficiency, through development of its electric vehicles industry, plastics waste reduction through a recycling infrastructure, and adoption of smart manufacturing through Industry 4.0 initiatives.
According to a report by Mordor Intelligence, Southeast Asia’s plastics market is expected to register a CAGR if 5.5 per cent from 2018 to 2023, and construction and packaging industries are the major consumers of plastics in the region, as well as film and sheet applications.
Meanwhile, Mordor Intelligence also says that the market for engineering plastics in the Asia-Pacific region was 25.37 million tonnes in 2017.
The market is expected to portray a healthy growth rate over the forecast period of 2018-2023, at a CAGR of 5.7 per cent.
PET resins are expected to dominate the segment, with a 51 per cent share in the engineering plastics’ product share and a growth of 6.6 per cent over the next five years.
At K 2019, both raw material producers and mechanical engineers want to make their experience and knowledge of recycling, sustainable development and circular economy with plastics available internationally.
Against this background, the circular economy will be at the centre of K 2019, which as the leading global trade fair for the sector offers optimum conditions for deepening discussions on this important topic with experts from many countries around the world and for intensifying cooperation