Information & Communication Technologies Thailand Market Study
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Information & Communication Technologies Thailand Market Study FEBRUARY 2020 © Copyright EU Gateway | Business Avenues The information and views set out in this study are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Neither the European Union institutions and bodies nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of EU Gateway | Business Avenues and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. The purpose of this report is to give European companies selected for participation in the EU Gateway | Business Avenues Programme an introductory understanding of the target markets countries and support them in defining their strategy towards those markets. For more information, visit www.eu-gateway.eu. EU Business Avenues in South East Asia Central Management Unit Thailand Market Study February 2020 Submitted to the European Commission on 10 February 2020 Information & Communication Technologies – Thailand Market Study - Page 3 of 178 Table of Contents LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................................................... 6 LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 10 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................................... 11 2. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THAILAND? .................................................................................... 15 2.1 POLITICAL OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................. 16 2.2 ECONOMIC OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................ 17 2.3 TRADE OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................................. 19 2.4 MARKET ACCESS ................................................................................................................................... 21 2.5 BUSINESS AND COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT ............................................................................................ 21 3. MARKET OVERVIEW AND EU ENTRY OPPORTUNITIES ................................................................................ 23 3.1 THAILAND’S INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (ICT) SECTOR ...................................... 23 3.1.1 Overview of the Singaporean ICT Sector ....................................................................................... 23 3.1.2 Lead Agencies ................................................................................................................................ 45 3.1.3 Key Associations ............................................................................................................................ 46 3.1.4 Entry Strategies .............................................................................................................................. 48 3.1.5 Challenges & Entry Barriers ........................................................................................................... 51 3.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EQUIPMENT ................................................................................................. 54 3.2.1 Market Overview ............................................................................................................................. 54 3.2.2 EU Entry Opportunities ................................................................................................................... 64 3.3 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SOFTWARE .................................................................................................. 68 3.3.1 Market Overview ............................................................................................................................. 68 3.3.2 EU Entry Opportunities ................................................................................................................... 82 3.4 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES.................................................................................................... 87 3.4.1 Market Overview ............................................................................................................................. 87 3.4.2 EU Entry Opportunities ................................................................................................................... 93 3.5 TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT ........................................................................................................ 97 3.5.1 Market Overview ............................................................................................................................. 97 3.5.2 EU Entry Opportunities ................................................................................................................. 102 3.6 TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES ........................................................................................................... 106 3.6.1 Market Overview ........................................................................................................................... 106 3.6.2 EU Entry Opportunities ................................................................................................................. 112 4. REGULATIONS ................................................................................................................................................... 116 4.1 IMPORT PROCEDURES ........................................................................................................................... 116 4.2 GOVERNMENT TENDERS ....................................................................................................................... 120 Information & Communication Technologies – Thailand Market Study - Page 4 of 178 4.3 THAILAND’S DIGITAL ECONOMY REGULATORY FRAMEWORK .................................................................. 121 5. ANNEX ................................................................................................................................................................ 130 5.1 LIST OF USEFUL CONTACTS .................................................................................................................. 130 5.2 STARTING A BUSINESS IN THAILAND ...................................................................................................... 132 5.3 USEFUL STATISTICS ............................................................................................................................. 142 6. REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................................... 168 Information & Communication Technologies – Thailand Market Study - Page 5 of 178 List of Figures Figure 1: Map of Thailand .......................................................................................................... 15 Figure 2: Growth in Key Thai Industries 2015-2018 ................................................................... 18 Figure 3: EU Imports and Exports to Thailand 2016-2018 (in EUR billions) .............................. 19 Figure 4: EU-Thailand Trade in Goods and Services, 2015-2018 .............................................. 20 Figure 5: Thailand 4.0 Visualisation ........................................................................................... 23 Figure 6: World Digital Competitiveness Rankings 2019 for the Asia-Pacific Region ................ 25 Figure 7: ICT usage, 2016-2019 ................................................................................................ 26 Figure 8: Computer & Internet Usage among Thai Businesses by Size and Type ..................... 28 Figure 9: Four Strategies in Developing a Digital Government .................................................. 36 Figure 10: Conceptual Plan for Digital Park Thailand ................................................................ 38 Figure 11: Thailand Payment Connectivity in ASEAN Source: Bank of Thailand ....................... 40 Figure 12: E-Commerce Activities in Thailand ........................................................................... 42 Figure 13: Secure Internet Servers per 1 Million People in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia ..... 56 Figure 14: Market share by m2 of Data Centre Space in 2017 ................................................... 58 Figure 15: The state of Additive Manufacturing in ASEAN ......................................................... 62 Figure 16: Olipad W811, the Latest Tablet from Olivetti ............................................................ 66 Figure 17: Thailand’s core on the Cloud Readiness Index 2018 ................................................ 71 Figure 18: The DGA is Developing a Centralised Big Data Management System ..................... 75 Figure 19: IoT in Thailand: Top 5 Industries for IoT market ......................................................