Clay Chandler

Executive editor, Asia

Other tech companies, such as Amazon and Google, have earmarked billions for data centers and cloud facilities in the region. And last year, Tesla opened a regional headquarters and service center in Malaysia.

Geopolitics is partly driving this surge in foreign investment deals in Southeast Asia. As trade relations between the U.S. and China deteriorate, many Western multinationals are “de-risking” by shifting supply lines out of China.

But Southeast Asia is an attractive market in its own right. The region’s GDP grew more than 56% to nearly $4 trillion between 2015 to 2023, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Fortune has been watching the rise of Southeast Asia’s economies with keen interest, and we’re expanding our operations in the region. So, this week, we launched our first-ever Fortune Southeast Asia 500 ranking of the largest firms in seven Southeast Asian countries based on fiscal year 2023 revenue.

Companies on the Fortune SEA 500 reported total earnings of $130 billion on $1.8 trillion in revenue. The top five firms, comprised of three Singaporean commodities traders and two state-owned oil and gas producers, accounted for 26% of the revenue generated by all companies on the list.

You can see the full list here and read more takeaways from this list here.

Fortune Southeast Asia 500

SOUTHEAST ASIA 500

Introducing Fortune’s first-ever Southeast Asia 500

Trafigura Group, PTT, Pertamina, Wilmar International, and Olam Group are the top five companies in the seven-country region by revenue.

Indonesia’s $5 billion deal with Tesla is only part of its all-in strategy on nickel mining

The uncertain EV market means the mining push may not be an easy pathway to prosperity.

Can Jollibee’s ‘Chickenjoy’ and sweet spaghetti challenge McDonald’s globally?

CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong wants to break into the world’s top five restaurant companies by market cap.

Thailand is still attracting fewer visitors than before COVID. But its tourism sector is thriving thanks to AI, savvy marketing, and Season 3 of ‘White Lotus’

The sector, which makes up as much as 20% of Thailand’s GDP, is maturing post-pandemic.

FINANCE

Stocks are sexy, but these market gurus see a generational opportunity in bonds

“The entry point is just very, very attractive,” Nuveen’s CIO of fixed income Anders Persson told Fortune.

Cathie Wood’s stunning new $2,600 Tesla prophecy and Wall Street’s Nvidia stock prediction share an often overlooked investing truth

Baked into the expectations for Tesla and Nvidia stock is the vision that a single player will dominate a revolutionary industry, facing little competition, virtually in perpetuity.

McDonald’s wants to add 100 million active users to its loyalty program by 2027

Here’s how the C-suite plans to do just that.

Private equity firms have $1.2 trillion to spend on NFL teams. Will the league finally let them?

The NFL may change its rules to let private equity firms purchase minority team stakes. Here’s a list of potential buyers.

WELL

Bill Gates and Mark Cuban swear that failure helped build their billion-dollar ideas, but new research says making mistakes isn’t actually a key to success

Optimism bias may be harming our resilience, according to a Northwestern researcher.

Milk Bar’s founder had ‘no business plan’ before launching her multimillion dollar dessert empire

Leadership Next: How GE Appliances made nugget ice into big business

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