Capitalising on the South Asian opportunity

ETHNICALLY diverse, with more than 2,000 ethnic entities, South Asia is made up of eight countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and is home to over one-fifth of the world's population estimated at approximately 1.8 billion.

As one of the region's largest and fastest- growing economies, India constitutes nearly 82 per cent of South Asia's economic growth. Its economy also ranks seventh in the world in nominal terms, and third by purchasing power, after adjusted exchange rates (US$8.64 trillion). Not only that, India is the only country in the region that has a membership in the Group of 20 (G-20) and the BRICS economies (along with Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa). Its neighbour Pakistan trails behind as the next largest economy (US$250 billion), with the fifth highest GDP per capita in South Asia, followed by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, whose economy is the fourth largest in South Asia, with the second highest GDP per capita.

According to the World Bank, driven by a strong expansion in India, South Asia is the fastest-growing region in the world, with economic growth forecasted to gradually accelerate from 7.1 per cent in 2016 to 7.3 per cent in 2017.