Speaking at the closing of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum on Friday, Widodo said the next unicorn – meaning a privately held start-up valued at more than US$1 billion – might emerge not from Silicon Valley or Shenzhen but from Jakarta, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila or Hanoi.

“Southeast Asia is no longer just a market, it is becoming a global force,” he said.

He urged countries to ready themselves for what he called an “intelligent economy” by prioritising the free flow of data and accelerating the adoption of technologies such as artificial intelligence, arguing that these would reshape production, strategy and ultimately income levels.

According to equity management software firm Eqvista, in May this year there were more than 1,550 unicorn companies globally and 44 were based in Southeast Asia.

Interview with Grab CEO Anthony Tan: How Grab became biggest tech unicorn in southeast Asia

Interview with Grab CEO Anthony Tan: How Grab became biggest tech unicorn in southeast Asia