Defining S-E Asia's push for financial inclusion

AHEAD of Singapore assuming the chairmanship of Asean in 2018, the country's Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) Lim Hng Kiang announced in May that digital economy and trade internationalisation measures will be key priorities for Asean next year. With Asean ranked as the world's seventh-largest economy when viewed as a single entity, there is immense potential for the growth of its financial services to benefit everyone in this digital economy.

Part of this commitment of the digital economy is to encourage people to adopt new forms of financial services that many households and businesses may not currently…