{
  "id": 15858333,
  "title": "The world’s rich are turning inward. Southeast Asia’s entrepreneurs are packing their bags",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/the-worlds-rich-are-turning-inward-southeast-asias-entrepreneurs-are",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-21T06:00:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "e27",
    "slug": "e27",
    "url": "https://e27.co/the-worlds-rich-are-turning-inward-southeast-asias-entrepreneurs-are-packing-their-bags-20261021/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Over the past two decades, the startup mantra has been simple: build a product customers love at home, then expand globally. However, a new report suggests this second step may be changing. In the 2026 HSBC Global Entrepreneurial Wealth Report, the percentage of global entrepreneurs interested in international expansion fell six percentage points to 43 percent, while those interested in domestic expansion and M&A surged to 64 percent. This shift reflects government concerns over data, energy, and technology supply chains, which make cross-border deals more complicated. Technology, energy, mining, manufacturing, and electronics sectors show the highest domestic M&A interest. The US in particular saw a dramatic shift, with domestic acquisition intent rising from 19 percent in 2025 to 62 percent. In contrast, Southeast Asia is moving in the opposite direction. Indonesia leads with 62 percent of entrepreneurs prioritizing overseas growth, followed by Thailand at 55 percent and Malaysia at 52 percent. This shift is attributed to regional integration and a consumer boom, with private consumption across the ASEAN economies projected to grow at an 8 percent annual rate to reach $5 trillion by 2035. However, the report emphasizes that the intent data cannot distinguish between confidence and a desire to diversify away from home-market risk. Singapore, unsurprisingly, is the top destination for entrepreneurs considering expansion, with 40 percent of global entrepreneurs considering it. Its appeal is driven by advanced technology access, a broad customer base, technology-friendly policies, professional services, and skilled labor. However, Singapore's stability may also attract wealthy individuals looking to diversify their assets, potentially leading to increased funding for the region. Despite the attractive prospect, regional expansion has proven challenging for many. Localisation remains manual, with different data residency rules, compliance requirements, and sometimes separate entities needed for each market. Cross-border M&A offers a shortcut, but due diligence questions founders often struggle with remain a hurdle. The conventional advice suggests a dual-track model: anchor intellectual property, treasury, and fundraising in Singapore, while running localized hub-and-spoke operations in Southeast Asia. However, many startups still face difficulties in executing this strategy.",
  "summary": "For two decades, the startup gospel was simple: find product-market fit at home, then blitzscale across borders. In 2026, much of the world appears to be rethinking the second half of that sentence. According to HSBC’s Global Entrepreneurial Wealth Report (GEWR) 2026, the share of entrepreneurs globally who want to expand internationally fell six percentage […] The post The world’s rich are…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}