Political turmoil hurting Thai growth; Jakarta riots leave Indonesia investors on edge

[SINGAPORE] South-east Asia emerged from the tariff-driven turbulence in the first half-year with decent prints, yet some of its largest markets have either downgraded their forecasts or are expected to miss official full-year growth targets.

As the world enters the home stretch of 2025 and an era that has been branded the slowest decade for global growth, The Business Times re-examines the standings of South-east Asia’s six largest markets, and takes a look at whether key indicators are supporting the nations’ growth stories.

Thailand: Sick man of South-east Asia?

Economists are cutting projections for Thailand’s growth, as the sacking of its fifth prime minister in under 20 years compounded the chaos from its conflict with Cambodia amid a recent string of weak data prints.