The article discusses the current state and prospects for development of special economic zones (SEZ) in Southeast Asia. There is an increasing variety of forms of financing the creation and functioning of the SEZ. The role of the SEZ in the development of integration processes in Southeast Asia and the formation of regional value chains, as well as stimulating the exchange of resources, is traced. The author believes that this process is developing most intensively in the border areas of neighboring states on the Indochina Peninsula. According to the author, the Greater Mekong subregion plays a special role in the formation of such chains.