The rise in connectivity across Asia

By George Colony*, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Forrester Research, USA

I am looking forward to the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions at Dalian and to discussing how to go about “Mastering Quality Growth.” Here at Forrester Research, we track growth in economies around the world, including those of our hosts in Asia. Here is some data from Forrester that you might find useful ahead of the forum:

On the Asia Pacific economy:

•  Forrester forecasts strong economic growth, measured by real GDP, for the Asia Pacific in 2011 and 2012. Only Japan lags — we’re predicting real GDP growth of -0.6% for the island nation in 2011. China leads growth forecasts for this year and next — we have real GDP growth at 9% in 2011 and 8.7% in 2012. India’s economy trails only China, growing 7.8% this year and 8.6% next.

On the Asia Pacific tech economy:

• Forrester expects strong growth for the tech economies in the Asia Pacific. Tech spending will grow 6.5%, in local currency terms, in 2011 to $347 billion exchange-rate adjusted US dollars. We are forecasting 6.7% growth in 2012.

On connectivity in Asia:

• PC adoption continues to rise throughout the region — 90% of adults in metro China have a personal computer, along with 36% of adults in metro India. Both of these numbers are up significantly in 2011.
• More adults are getting online too — 88% of metro Chinese use the Internet at least monthly, up 13% from 2010; 34% of adults in metro India are online monthly, up 9% this year.
• Growth in mobile Internet usage is outpacing them all — 45% of metro Chinese are online via a mobile device at least monthly, up 21% from 2010; 11% of metro Indians access the mobile Net monthly, up from just 1% in 2010. Japan saw the biggest jump in mobile Internet usage: 57% of adults now have access, up 24% from last year.

I am moderating a panel, titled “Digital Asia,” on Friday the 16^th. We’ll explore the rise in connectivity across Asia and its effect on governments and business in the region. Early returns indicate that digital leads to opportunities for companies to grow and for governments to better reach and help their citizens. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topic and to discuss the impact that the convergence of digital technologies is having across Asia. If you’d like to discuss, or to read more about what I’m thinking, check out my blog: The Counterintuitive CEO.

George Colony* is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Forrester Research. He is attending the upcoming World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions held in Dalian, China 14-16 September 2011.