Indonesia and Vietnam are enjoying major bull markets this year, while Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines struggle, with the Philippine Stock Exchange showing the deepest losses. Key factors include threats to political stability from corruption scandals and opposition moves against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., weak government spending, and structural market issues. A comparison of Asean markets highlights what the PSE lacks.
Vietnam leads with the region's strongest GDP growth, projected at up to 8.3% for full-year 2025, driven by exports, investment, and strong domestic consumption. Its foreign direct investment reached US$21.52 billion in the first half of 2025, up 32.6% year-on-year. Vietnam has approximately 1,700 listed companies across three main stock markets—400 large-cap, 330 mid-cap, and 870 to 900 small-cap firms—with 393 stockbrokerage houses. Average daily trading value fluctuates between US$1.3 billion and $2.1 billion, hitting a single-day record over $3 billion in August.
Indonesia features 903 listed companies and 558 stockbrokerage houses, bolstered by strong domestic fundamentals and commodity exports. Its average daily trading volume stands at 18 billion shares, with a value of about $700 million. Indonesia has dominated regional initial public offerings.
Thailand is in a long-term downtrend, with average GDP growth of 1.9%, 860 listed companies, and 548 brokerages. It faces structural economic challenges and net selling by foreign investors.
Malaysia's services sector accounts for 59.2% of GDP and manufacturing 23.4%, but its stock market saw a year-to-date loss of 0.91% as of mid-November 2025. It has approximately 1,091 listed companies across three markets—808 on the Main market, 236 on the Ace market, and 236 on the Leap market—with at least 12 primary stockbrokerage houses.
In contrast, the Philippine Stock Exchange has 285 listed companies and 122 brokerages, with daily trading volume between 110 million and 291 million shares and value not exceeding $110 million. Foreign direct investment fell 40.5% in August 2025, and third-quarter GDP growth slowed to 4%, the lowest in four years. The PSE acts as a value trap due to fundamental weaknesses like governance issues, political instability from corruption scandals in flood control and opposition efforts against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., weak government spending, and structural flaws. To catch up, the Philippines needs immediate drastic measures to address low market diversity, weak investment flows, and low investor confidence.