Three major industry organisations are urging Chaichanok Chidchob, the incoming digital economy and society (DES) minister, to prioritise the national artificial intelligence (AI) policy and sovereign technology development.
They said he should also enhance digital service tax collection to reduce the digital deficit, combat online scams, and strengthen Thailand’s online export capabilities.
“Thailand has a critical window of less than five years to successfully adapt and integrate AI. The nation’s future economic trajectory — success or decline — depends on the actions taken now by its people and leaders,” Djitt Laowatana, executive director and chairman of the Robotics and AI Committee of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, told the Bangkok Post.
The ministry must lead the transition to an AI government, he added.
National Telecom (NT) should be the core operational agency within the DES ministry, due to its strong existing facilities, he noted.
The previous government established a National AI Committee, chaired by the prime minister. While the committee only held meetings twice and lacked a list of top priorities, its establishment was a crucial step in reshaping Thailand’s economy in the future, Mr Djitt added.
“Instead of relying solely on foreign AI platforms, Thailand should allocate a budget to train local talent to develop its own platforms,” he said.
He suggested that public AI projects should be open for bidding exclusively for Thai companies, while the private sector should be offered Board of Investment incentives for investments in automation.
Given the budgetary constraints, a strict public-private partnership (PPP) model is essential.
He said that of the total ministry budget, 55% should be spent on infrastructure and for bids by Thai firms as well as on human capital training.
The rest of the budget should be for application development led by the private sector and government oversight of technology.
Pawoot Pongvitayapanu, honorary president of the Thai e-Commerce Association, said that the ministry should adopt five strategic pillars for developing Thailand’s digital transformation framework.
The first is public-private collaboration, which involves engaging key industry associations to set key performance indicators (KPIs) and work together to enhance e-logistics and smart supply chains.
The goal is to integrate fulfilment, customs, and payment systems to support cross-border e-commerce, enabling Thai products to be exported through international platforms to Asean markets, rather than seeing Thailand overwhelmed by foreign imports.
Meanwhile, he supports the use of digital technology such as e-learning, telehealth and agricultural blockchain technology for creating social impacts.
The second pillar involves ensuring that foreign platforms follow fair rules.
Such fair rules include digital tax, along with fair competition. The ministry should implement a systematic digital service tax collection on digital platforms such as Google, Facebook, TikTok and Netflix to increase national revenue.
The Revenue Department should also improve its VAT collection on electronic services.
The ministry should require all foreign sellers on platforms like Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop to register and pay taxes in Thailand in order to ensure revenue generated in Thailand is recorded locally, similar to the system used in Indonesia.
The minister should transform small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into digital businesses and build additional Thai tech unicorns.
The third pillar is creating an e-commerce export hub to help SMEs’ products go global with a target of 1 million Thai SMEs selling products internationally.
The minister should use Big Data and an e-know your customer approach for credit scoring to help SMEs access low-interest loans without collateral.
In addition, it should support Thai tech companies by requiring government and state enterprises to prioritise Thai tech providers when they procure products or services.
The fourth pillar focuses on elevating national capabilities with AI.
It should set up AI sandboxes for startups to test real-world AI projects, providing R&D funding and defining practical use cases with clear KPIs.
The ministry should develop a free and low-cost national digital curriculum covering coding, data, AI and cybersecurity and partner with the Ministry of Labor to expand access nationwide.
The fifth pillar involves Digital Infrastructure and Trust by building a secure, inclusive digital foundation for all, and set up a Thai-owned National Data Centre & Cloud to reduce reliance on foreign providers.
It should integrate all government services with an existing unified Digital ID (ThaID) system, turning mobile phones into national ID cards. Pathom Indarodom, director of the Digital Council of Thailand, said Thailand’s new minister brings fresh energy, with real tech experience, especially in e-sports, representing a welcome shift from past leadership.
But the real challenge lies in improving Thailand’s ranking on the IMD Digital Competitiveness Index, which requires more than public events or political gestures, he said.
