Southeast Asia has an investment boom, thanks to the US-China trade war

Southeast Asia is finding there's some upside to the trade war, as it becomes an alternative base for firms relocating production away from China to avoid levies

Southeast Asia is seeing a boom in foreign direct investment as the intensifying trade war between the U.S. and China prompts companies to shift production to the region.

Vietnam saw manufacturing inflows jump 18 per cent in the first nine months of 2018, driven by investments including a $1.2 billion polypropylene production project by South Korea’s Hyosung Corp., according to a Maybank Kim Eng Research Pte. note on Monday.

In January through July, Thailand’s net FDI rose 53 per cent from a year earlier to $7.6 billion, with manufacturing inflows surging almost five times, according to central bank data. In the Philippines,