Singapore's internet economy to hit US$27b by 2025

This is nearly four times larger than its size in 2015.

Singapore's internet economy is expected to hit US$12b in 2019 and more than double to US$27b by 2025 from US$7b in 2025, according to a report from Google, Temasek and Bain.

The Lion City also pulled ahead of its larger peers in the region to clinch US$5.3b in investments into its internet economy in the first half of the year, up from US$4.8b in the first half of 2018. This puts the city on track to meet and possibly surpass the US$9.1b funding that was channeled into the sector in 2018.

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"Internet companies based in the Lion City have raised more than US$23b since 2016. Unicorns like Grab and Sea Group as well as companies like Carousell, GoBear, ONE Championship, PropertyGuru, ShopBack and Zilingo chose to be based in Singapore for its world-class infrastructure, supportive business environment and its ablity to attract talent," the report's authors said.  

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Of the components that make up the local internet economy, the ride hailing segment is tipped to grow the fastest at a robust CAGR of 23% from 2015-2025 with a gross merchandise value of US$7b in six years time.

E-commerce is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22% during the ten-year period. Online travel and online media are poised to expand at a CAGR of 10% and 13% respectively from 2015-2025 to hit a GMV of US$11b and US$3b respectively. 

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"Average order values in Singapore's e-commerce sector are three to four times higher than those in the rest of the region. Ride hailing trips and food delivery orders reveal similar patterns," the report added.

The Southeast Asia internet economy is tipped to grow by 39% to hit US$100b for the first time in 2019 amidst strong annual growth rates in Indonesia and Vietnam of over 40% and steady 20-30% growth rates in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.