Digital economy to make up 60% of APAC’s GDP by 2021

The digital economy in Asia-Pacific (APAC) is expected to be worth $1.16tn by 2021, accounting for 60% of the region’s gross domestic product (GDP) – up from about 6% last year, an IDC study has found. Commissioned by software giant Microsoft, the study, which polled 1,560 business decision makers across 15 APAC economies, also found that digital products and services enabled by mobility, cloud, the internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) would grow the region’s GDP by 0.8% each year. Speaking at a briefing in Singapore today, Daniel-Zoe Jimenez, IDC’s research director for digital transformation and big data analytics, said this “big jump” will occur as more companies shift from embracing technology to become more productive towards developing more digital products and services.