Southeast Asia remains an attractive market for private equity even as deal value in the region declined 16% in 2020  over the previous five-year average due to COVID-19 related restrictions, according to global advisory firm Bain & Co.

During the SEA PE&VC Trends presentation Friday, Alessandro Cannarsi, partner and leader at Bain SEA Equity  practice, said the macro trends in Southeast Asia are still present despite COVID 19. These include a strong regional demographic, rising consumer class, the rapid shift to digital, among others.

The shift towards digital during the pandemic is especially hopeful for the tech sector. “A lot of this growth is actually sticky … these new users that came up online for the first time [during] COVID-19 … continued to use online services even when COVID restrictions were lifted,” Cannarsi said.

Digital adoption has widened its reach within the Southeast Asian society and is no longer about young professionals in tier-one cities, Cannarsi added. Even the older demographics, the lower-income segments, and those in tier-two and three cities have now come aboard.