Investment
Promotion Seminar on ICT
Shaping
ASEAN Korea Partnership in Digital Era
Organized
by KAIT, Seoul, South Korea
By Manoo Ordeedolchest
May
25, 2017
The Thai Government has launched the Digital Economy
Initiative since 2014 aiming at turning the economic model from labor intensive
to value intensive; from value-added economy to value-creation economy. The Digital Economy Initiative is based on the
understanding that Digital Technology is more than Information Technology (IT)
and Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
of the past. According to McDonald and Rowsell-Jones[1], Digital Technology
refers to digital information and digital equipment that drives customer value.
You may say IT Technology and ICT Technology are also about Digital Information
and Digital Equipment. Yes, IT Technology and ICT Technology are Digital
Technology but due to the limited range and density they are not creating customer
value; they help improve efficiency. IT is mainly for computation and
processing of data while ICT refers to the use of digital to handle
telecommunication, broadcasting and network based application. Digital
Technology has been developed further in convergence with a larger range of
technologies. It has broadened the scope of applications and created the dynamic
of usages in practically all areas that affect all walks of life. The diversity
of technologies is converged to become the modern Digital Technology creating a
diverse digital information and digital equipment such as Smart Devices, IoT, Robotics, Big Data
Analytics, Autonomous software systems, Immersive content, Ultra broadband
communication, etc. These are the Digital Technologies that are expected to
drive the Digital Economy Initiative.
To
transform a country into a new environment with new technologies of this scale, one certainly expects to face many issues and obstacles such as change of
regulations and legislation, shortage of qualified expertise and capabilities,
processes of ease of doing business, digital transformation facilitation, etc.
The logical way to implement the Digital Economy Initiative with means to
overcome the aforementioned issues is to implement the plan within a contained
geographical area. The Digital Park Project is designed to serve the purpose
and it is the most critical success factor for the success of the National
Digital Economy Project. The Digital
Park with a total area of 1.1 million square meters has four major components
such as a regulatory sandbox, a private sector innovation area, a digital
talent development facility, and a smart living space to serve the digital
tenants. Investors who are interested to
invest in various projects will be offered attractive incentives of all kinds.
The projects within the Digital Parks will accelerate the expansion of the
Digital Industry development and transformation in both the demand side and
supply side throughout the country.
On the
demand side, due to the modernization programs of various industries by Digital
Technology, the spending on Digital Technologies is expected to rise
dramatically. The digital transformation program for SMEs under the promotion
of the Ministry of Industry is another major force to shift the Digital
Industry to the new level. Digital Technologies are also used to support the
new S-curve industries such as Automation and Robotics, Biofuel & biochemistry,
Aviation & Logistics, and Health Wellness BioMed in addition to the first
batch of S-curve industries comprises of
Next Gen Automotive, Smart Electronics, Medical & Wellness Tourism,
Agriculture & Biotech, and Food for the future.
On
the supply side, the existing Thai ICT Industry stands at around US$ 40 billion
for the market size and growing at an average of around 13%. Nearly one half is
from the telecommunication service sector, 20% from broadcasting and related
business, the rest of 30% is from the traditional IT businesses such as
hardware, software, and IT services[2]. With the additional potential use of the
modern Digital Technologies mentioned above we have no doubt that the market
size of the Digital Industry on the supply side would grow up to 2-3 times of
the current market size within not more than five years.
Thailand
cannot and does not intend to execute this project in isolation. With the
connected world of today Thailand will collaborate and network with partners
all over the World especially with the ASEAN partners. We see the Digital Park
as a regional playground for members of CLMV and other ASEAN members to jointly
develop and transform the Digital Industry of both the demand side and supply
side for the advancement of the region.
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