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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES SCIENCE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT MONITOR - SAST ACTIVITY STRATEGIC ANALYSIS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY THE NEEDS AND POSSIBILITIES FOR COOPERATION BETWEEN SELECTED ADVANCED DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND THE COMMUNITY IN THE FIELD OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (Sast Project N° 1) COUNTRY REPORT ON THAILAND by Dr. L. Cuyvers, Faculty of Applied Economics University of Antwerp (RUCA}, Belgium Dr. K. Ramanathan, School of Management Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok January 1991 * * * ** * * **•* * EUR 14142 EN MONITOR - SAST ACTIVITY STRATEGIC ANALYSIS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY THE NEEDS AND POSSIBILITIES FOR COOPERATION BETWEEN SELECTED ADVANCED DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND THE COMMUNITY IN THE FIELD OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (Sast Project N° 1) COUNTRY REPORT ON THAILAND by Dr. L. Cuyvers, Faculty of Applied Economics University of Antwerp (RUCA), Belgium Dr. K. Ramanathan, School of Management Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok December 1 990 Published by the COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES Directorate-General Telecommunications, Information Industries and Innovation L-2920 LUXEMBOURG LEGAL NOTICE Neither the Commission of the European Communities nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made of the following information Catalogue number : CD-NA-14142-EN-C © ECSC - EEC - EAEC, Brussels - Luxembourg, 1992 FOREWORD This report has been prepared for the Strategic Analysis in Science and Technology Unit (SASTJ of the Directorate-General for Science, Research and Development of the Commission of the European Communities. SAST activities are part of the MONITOR Programme which aims to identify new directions and priorities for Community research and technological development (RTDJ policy and to help show more clearly the relationship between RTD policy and other Community policies. For questions already identified as of interest for the development of Community policy, SAST projects provide an investigation of the perspectives opened up by science and technology. SAST projects thus serve as an input to the process of policy formulation. In the case of the SAST project to which this report contributes, "The needs and possibilities for cooperation between selected advanced developing countries and the Community in the field of science and technology", the context of policy questions includes the evolving economic relations between the Community and these countries, the interest to the Community of promoting international cooperation in science and technology with various types of countries, and the Community's role in European science and technology. This report is one of a set of country studies carried out for the project. The set comprises the Republic of Korea, That7and, other ASEAN countries, the People's Republic of China, India, Brazil and Mexico. An overall strategic review will also be available in 1992. It should be borne in mind in reading the country studies that the fieldwork on which they are based was carried out almost entirely in the country concerned. The points of view of European industrialists/researchers/policy makers were not explicitly sought for this part of the project. (They will be sought as part of the work for the overall strategic review.) SAST presents this report as a stimulus to reflection and debate within the European Community on the best strategies to adopt towards a group of increasingly important countries. It must be stressed, however, that the orientation and content of reports prepared for SAST cannot be taken as indicating the considered opinion of policy advisors within the Commission services. TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages INTRODUCTION AND READERS' GUIDE . (i) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................... 0-iii) PART I : STRATEGIC REVIEW I. 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................. 3 1.2. EVOLUTION OF THE ECONOMY OF THAILAND AND THE POSITION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY ...................... 4 1.3. S&T POLICIES AND PLANS IN THAILAND AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY ............................... 8 1.4. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY S&T CAPABILITIES AND CAPACITIES IN THAILAND ................................ 11 1.5. CONCLUDING REMARKS ..................................... 13 PART II : DECISION BASE II. 1. EVOLUTION OF THE ECONOMY OF THAILAND ...................... 17 11.1.1. International trade ..................................... 18 11.1.1.1. Analysis of Thailand's trade by commodities ............ 19 11.1.1.2. Analysis of Thailand's trade by countries .............. 23 11.1.2. Direct foreign investment in Thailand ........................ 25 11.1.2.1. Investment climate ............................. 26 11.1.2.2. FDI by country ................................ 29 11.1 .2.3. FDI by sector ................................. 30 11.2. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (S&T) POLICIES AND PLANS IN THAILAND .... 32 11.2.1. S&T highlights of the Fifth National Economic and Social Development Plan ( 1982-1 986) ....... 0 . 0 0 0 .... 0 .. 0 32 11.2.2. S&T highlights of the Sixth National Economic and Social Development Plan (1987-1991) .. 0 0 0 .. 0 0 0 0 .. 0 0 .. 0 0 0 34 11.2030 The development of a long-term S&T policy and Master Plan 0 . 0 0 0 .. 34 11.2.40 Some observations on Thailand's S&T policies and pians 0·0 . 0 0 . 0 0 0 0 35 11.3. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THAILAND ............................................. 38 11.3.1. The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) ....................................... 39 11.3.2. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Energy (MOSTE) ......... 41 11.3.2.1. The Technology Transfer Centre (TIC) ................ 41 11.3.2.2. The National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) ....... 42 11.3.2.3. Department of Science Services (DSS) ................ 44 11.3.2.4. Thailand's Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR) .................... 45 11.3.2.5. The National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NCGEB) ....................... 47 11.3.2.6. The National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) ...................... 48 11.3.2.7. The National Center for Metal and Material Technology (NCMMT) ........................... 49 11.3.2.8. The Science and Technology Development Board (STDB) ... 50 11.3.3. Thailand Development Research Institute (TORI) ................ 53 11.3.4. The Thailand Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) ................ 54 11.4. AN EVALUATION OF S&T CAPABILITIES OF THAILAND ................ 55 11.4.1. R&D capability ....................................... 55 11.4.2. Technology transfer capability ............................ 57 11.4.3. Technology capability of Thai industry ....................... 60 11.4.3.1. The TORI definition of technological capability .......... 61 11.4.3.2. Evaluation of technological capability ................. 63 11.4.3.3. Reasons for the low level of technological capabilities ..... 66 11.4.4. S& T human resources development ......................... 67 11.5. SCOPE FOR COOPERATION BETWEEN THAILAND AND THE EC IN THE FIELD OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY .................... 70 11.5.1. Assessment of technological needs in Thailand ................. 70 11.5.2. Areas for potential cooperation ............................ 73 11.5.3. Scope for EC investment in Thailand ........................ 75 ANNEXES Annex 1 Statistical tables ...................................... 79 Annex 2 Case study of a Thai-British Joint Venture in the materials technology-based Industry - Solar Bronze (Thailand) Co. ltd. ..... 109 Annex 3 List of officials interviewed in Thailand . 11 5 LIST OF TABLES (with page references) REFERENCES INTRODUCTION AND READERS' GUIDE The Strategic Analysis of Science and Technology (SAST) Project No. 1 initiated by the European Community (EC) is entitled, "The needs and possibilities for cooperation between selected advanced developing countries and the Community in the field of Science and Technology". The aim of this project is to provide a decision base for policy-makers in developing S&T cooperatiiJn between the European Community and a number of selected advanced developing countries of which Thailand is one. The term decision base, as mentioned above is used to indicate that the SAST Project No 1 . consists of an analysis of the many factors that could be considered for decision making in the area, but is not by any means to be associated with the decision process itself. The decision base is expected to include a description and analysis of the S&T situation in the countries in question against the political and economic background and the signalling of the most relevant facts and developments. This report on Thailand has been prepared with the objective of providing some basic inputs to this decision base. In the preparation of this report available publications related to the S&T situation in Thailand were used and the findings were supplemented by having discussions with key Thai officials and researchers in the field of S&T. The number of such interviews that were possible were also constrained by the fact that some of the senior officials whom we would have liked to meet were not available during the period set aside for the interviews. The interviews were conducted by Prof. Dr. Ludo Cuyvers, Dr. G.K. Janssens and Dr. K. Ramanathan. An attempt was also made to meet an investor from Europe, preferably in the small/medium sector, and get his views. This attempt met with succes and this report