HSBC: Indonesia, Southeast Asia enter golden age of economy.

Despite the forecast of slow global economic growth in 2020, Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, is expected to enter an economic golden age that will take the region well on the path to become the world's fourth-largest economic bloc in the next decade.

HSBC Private Banking's chief market strategist for Southeast Asia, James Cheo, said he is convinced the region could ride out the current global slowdown and soon catch up with the world's economic powerhouses.

"The most exciting story, if we look at the next decade, is Southeast Asia. The next ten years could very well be the region's golden age because if it continues to grow, say, at its current pace, it can become the fourth largest economic bloc, behind the US, Europe and China," Cheo said to the Jakarta Globe.

Cheo pointed out there are at least three supporting factors behind Southeast Asia's economic rise. First is the demographic bonus that many countries in the region are already enjoying.

"Sixty percent of Southeast Asians are under the age of 35. In the next ten years, they will come of age: they'll start working and get their first paycheck. They will increase their purchases. They'll buy cars. They'll get married and buy a house. They'll have kids and spend more money on education, and of course, they'll travel to see the world," Cheo said.

Second, urbanization is getting more widespread in Southeast Asia, not only in big metropolitans but also in second-tier cities.

The third is the fact that Southeast Asia is "more digital" than the rest of the world. Southeast Asians spend an...