Airlangga said an earlier study estimated ASEAN's digital market could double from about US$1 trillion to US$2 trillion after DEFA implementation, with Indonesia projected to account for 30-40 percent.
"With the Digital Economy Framework, based on an earlier study, the ASEAN digital market of US$1 trillion will increase to US$2 trillion, and Indonesia's share would be around 30 to 40 percent. This means we could drive the digital economy to US$600 billion," Airlangga said at the Ministry of Trade in Jakarta.
He said expanding the digital economy would require supporting infrastructure, including green energy, data centers and e-commerce platforms.
The government also welcomed the growing use of e-commerce by businesses to market products not only domestically but also to export markets.
ASEAN is preparing for the signing of DEFA, expected to take place in November 2026 in Manila, the Philippines.
Airlangga identified payment system integration as one of DEFA's early benefits, or "low-hanging fruit." Indonesia's Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) payment system is expected to see wider use across ASEAN.
QRIS is currently available in five ASEAN countries. Wider adoption could benefit micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by reducing transaction costs for merchants, Airlangga said.
"Using QRIS provides an advantage because there is no, in quotation marks, merchant discount. So the cost for merchants is zero," he said.
Cross-border digital payments would make it easier for MSMEs to transact with consumers across ASEAN and use digital platforms to support their exports, he added.
Airlangga urged more MSMEs to join the digital economy, particularly businesses producing artisan products.
"This is an opportunity for the Minister of MSMEs, Maman Abdurrahman, to encourage more MSMEs to go digital, especially those producing artisan products," he said.
Related news: ASEAN targets digital economy pact DEFA signing by Nov 2026
Related news: Data centers key to driving 8 percent economic growth: Minister
Translator: Maria Cicilia G P, Martha Herlinawati Simanjuntak
Editor: Primayanti
Copyright © ANTARA 2026
