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Investment in artificial intelligence (AI) is helping keep global economic growth at around 3%, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. Asia could benefit significantly from rising technology investment, though those gains may not be distributed evenly among countries in the region.
According to Reuters, Georgieva said on Monday at the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok that AI investment could lift growth by 0.5 to 1 percentage point in advanced Asian economies and by 0.2 to 0.8 percentage points in emerging Asian economies.
An IMF assessment published on October 7 said oil was priced at around $100 a barrel, while major disruptions to liquefied natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf were pushing up energy costs, particularly in Asia and Europe.
Asia leads production of AI equipment
In remarks in Singapore on October 7, Georgieva said Asia-Pacific’s share of global GDP, measured at purchasing power parity, had risen to 43% from 25% in 1991. Long-term industrial development and integration into global supply chains have enabled the region to meet growing demand for advanced chips, memory components and computing equipment, she said.
AI equipment and related technology products now account for more than 10% of global goods trade, according to the IMF. The United States, China and India are among the main net importers of this equipment as they seek to expand their computing capacity. Five of the other seven economies in the IMF’s top 10 AI equipment supply chains are in Asia.
According to Stanford University’s 2026 AI Index, global corporate investment in AI more than doubled in 2025 from the previous year, while private investment rose by 127.5%. Generative AI attracted about half of all private AI funding. Private AI investment in the United States was 23 times higher than in China, though Stanford noted that the figures do not fully capture funding backed by the Chinese government.
Rising infrastructure spending gives Asian equipment exporters an opportunity to increase production, expand exports and strengthen their positions in supply chains. However, countries without advanced technology manufacturing may remain buyers of AI technologies rather than benefit from the investment. Georgieva said on October 7 that many economies were being left out of AI investment, which could deepen global inequality.
Risks linked to energy costs and jobs
Semiconductor manufacturing and the data centers that run AI systems require large amounts of electricity. Growing demand could place additional pressure on power systems facing supply constraints, while higher energy costs could affect manufacturers, transport companies and households. These factors risk driving up inflation and reducing the economic benefits of investment.
At the Bangkok meeting, Georgieva warned that AI could enhance, diminish the importance of or eliminate tasks associated with around 40% of jobs worldwide. Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam also expressed concern about narrowing opportunities for graduates entering the labor market.
Stanford’s index shows that employment among software developers aged 22 to 25 in the United States has fallen by about 20% since 2024. Around one-third of surveyed organizations said they expected workforce cuts linked to AI. However, the report does not establish that AI alone caused the decline and notes that broad job losses have not yet appeared in overall employment figures.
For emerging Asian economies, long-term benefits may come not only from building AI infrastructure but also from applying the technology in existing sectors. World Bank President Ajay Banga said at the Bangkok meeting that smaller-scale AI applications in agriculture, health care and education could raise productivity, particularly in developing countries. Such solutions may require less computing power and capital than the most advanced models.
IMF research indicates that effective use of AI could add up to half a percentage point to global annual growth over the long term, according to Georgieva’s October 7 remarks. She said the additional economic output generated over a decade could be equivalent to adding an economy the size of ASEAN to the global economy.
Realizing this potential will require investment in digital infrastructure and workforce skills, as well as effective regulation. One of Asia’s main challenges is to attract investment while ensuring its benefits reach businesses, workers and developing economies beyond chip factories and data centers.
