Brian Chinappi Coverage in PERE: Southeast Asia sees investment flows continue despite tariff risk

Brian Chinappi, Managing Director, Global Head of Real Estate & Data Centers at Actis, spoke to PERE about why investment flows into Southeast Asia remain resilient despite new tariff measures.

With Singapore still a hub for institutional-grade investment, attention is shifting to emerging markets such as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Vietnam’s industrial and logistics sector, for example, saw foreign direct investment grow 34 percent year-on-year in early 2025, even with new US tariffs in place.

Click here to read the full article and read on for a snapshot of Brian’s comments below.

Brian Chinappi, Managing Director, Global Head of Real Estate & Data Centers at Actis, commented:

“At first, everybody gave it a bit of a pause to see what was happening on the ground. But from manufacturers with a long-term interest in the market, we didn’t see any slowdown in FDI. What we’re hearing from tenants on the ground is that they’re mainly worried about whether they can get expansion space. So, the story remains quite strong – we think 20 percent [tariffs] is very workable for Vietnam given the low cost of manufacturing.

“Tariffs can be seen as a negative, but the trans-shipment piece you can view quite positively, because it’s requiring more value-add to happen locally. That’s going to create pressure on space, because manufacturers are going to be pushing to move their supply chain in.”

Disclaimer

General discussions contained in this document regarding the Southeast Asian market or market conditions represent the view of either the source cited or Actis. Such information is not research and should not be treated as research. Moreover, there is no assurance historical trends will continue. The information referenced herein is as of September 2025, unless otherwise indicated, and is subject to change.