Friction is the advantage if you know how to use it

Companies often expand based on market potential, then discover that execution is the real challenge. The Vistra Friction Index: Where to Grow, Where to Execute brings together opportunity and operational complexity across 12 APAC markets. Through the Opportunity-friction Quadrant, it shows you where to grow and how to execute with confidence.

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Global expansion is getting harder to get right

Across APAC, entity set-up timelines vary by up to 600x between markets. Compliance costs in high-friction environments run 80–130% higher than in efficient ones. And with geopolitical fragmentation, regulatory divergence and operational complexity all intensifying — the cost of getting your expansion strategy wrong has never been higher.

Most market intelligence tells you where growth is happening. The Vistra Friction Index tells you whether your organisation is ready to capture it.

Introducing the Vistra Friction Index

Developed in partnership with Euromonitor International, the Vistra Friction Index is an evidence-based framework that evaluates 12 APAC markets across two complementary dimensions.

By combining both dimensions, the Index gives you a complete picture, not just where the opportunity is, but what it will cost you to pursue it.

Market Attractiveness

Evaluates the structural pull factors that make a market worth entering: economic resilience, trade and investment openness, and demographic fundamentals.

Friction Index

Assesses the operational "push factors" that determine how hard it is to execute once you're in: entity management, accounting and tax compliance, and HR and payroll complexity.

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How does your target market score?

Explore Market Attractiveness scores across all 12 assessed markets. Each score reflects performance across Economy & Society, Trade & Investment Environment, and Demographic Fundamentals.

Lower friction

Higher friction

Hover over a market to see the full breakdown

Source: Vistra Friction Index 2026, developed in partnership with Euromonitor International. Higher scores indicate greater operational complexity.

Four market profiles. One strategic framework

Mapping Market Attractiveness against the Friction Index reveals four distinct expansion profiles. Understanding which quadrant your target market sits in shapes everything — your entry strategy, your governance model, your timeline and your risk appetite.

✓ Fast-track markets (High attractiveness / Low friction) Enable rapid scaling and capital-efficient expansion

✓ Competitive advantage markets (High attractiveness / High friction) Offer substantial long-term upside with phased entry strategies

✓ Efficiency markets (Low attractiveness / Low friction) Serve as reliable cash generators for operational optimisation

✓ Precision entry markets (Low attractiveness / High friction) Require selective, targeted approaches for specific objectives

Tap any market dot to see its strategic profile

Move fast

Invest in governance

Harvest & optimise

Selective only

Hover over any market to see its strategic profile

Ready to build your expansion strategy on better data?

Download the Vistra Friction Index report and get a complete strategic playbook for cross-border growth across APAC — including market-by-market profiles, operational cost analysis and sector-specific insights.

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What you'll find inside

Market-by-market profiles

Detailed scorecards for all 12 markets — covering entity set-up timelines, compliance costs, tax rates, HR complexity and talent availability.

The Opportunity–Friction Quadrant

A full strategic framework mapping every market by opportunity and execution complexity, with recommended actions and entry strategies per quadrant.

Emerging industries deep-dive

Sector-specific analysis across high-tech manufacturing, biopharma, new energy and EVs, and consumer goods — including where friction is highest by industry.

Strategic takeaways for expansion leaders

Practical guidance on entity structuring, the true cost of operations beyond the headline tax rate, and talent deployment across the region.

Built on rigorous research. Validated by those doing it.

The Vistra Friction Index was developed in partnership with Euromonitor International, drawing on proprietary data, secondary research across 12 markets and primary interviews with senior executives responsible for APAC expansion decisions.

Vistra is the operational partner of choice for companies navigating global complexity — from entity establishment and regulatory compliance to tax, payroll and workforce management across 50+ markets.