- Supporting the government in boosting Thailand’s digital competitiveness to enable its industries and people to transition from digital consumers to digital producers
- Enabling Thailand to capture growth opportunities in Southeast Asia’s anticipated 1 trillion USD digital economy
Bangkok, October 4, 2023 – True Corporation as the No. 1 telecom-tech company in Thailand, is leveraging its potential to propel the country towards global digital opportunities. This effort places a strong emphasis on digital transformation through ‘CTPaP’, which encompasses five building blocks: Connectivity, Technology, Platform as a Service, Analytics & Artificial Intelligence, and People. The objective is to fortify Thailand’s position as a leader in the digital economy within Southeast Asia and capture opportunities in Southeast Asia’s anticipated 1 trillion USD digital economy.
Digital vision and challenging obstacles
Thailand possesses a robust digital infrastructure and boasts a high digital adoption rate, presenting ample opportunities for growth within the digital economy of Southeast Asia (SEA). According to a report by Bain & Company, it is projected that by 2030, the digital economy’s value in Southeast Asia could reach 1 trillion USD if sustainable growth is maintained. Thailand’s digital economy ranks as the second largest in SEA, trailing only behind Indonesia, with a digital-to-GDP ratio of approximately 12%, signifying a substantial contribution (the digital economy contributes 15% to global GDP). The Thai government has set ambitious goals for the digital economy, aiming for it to contribute 30% of the total GDP by 2030. However, several challenges must be addressed for Thailand to fully capitalize on the potential of this burgeoning digital economy.
Manat Manavutiveth, Chief Executive Officer of True Corporation Plc, stated, “Despite Thailand’s high digital adoption rate, robust digital infrastructure, and the significant digital economy-to-GDP ratio, achieving sustainable growth in the burgeoning digital economy of Southeast Asia, which is projected to reach 1 trillion USD, remains a challenge. Today, a significant portion of digital spending in the country goes to international platform providers, resulting in a digital deficit that impacts our long-term digital competitiveness. Thailand therefore must enhance its digital competitiveness, enabling its industries and people to transition from digital consumers to digital producers.”
Thailand economy in post COVID-19
Thailand’s economic recovery in the post-COVID-19 era faces multiple challenges, including a slower GDP growth rate compared to neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. It is therefore imperative for Thailand to expedite its transformation towards digitalization across various industries, businesses, and individuals.
“Digital transformation is ‘a must’ for Thailand. To successfully transition Thai industries and the country into a fully-fledged digital economy, it relies on the readiness of the ‘5 building blocks,’ which must be simultaneously implemented. These encompass Connectivity, Technology, Platform as a Service, Analytics & Artificial Intelligence, and People (CTPaP). True Corporation is committed to supporting the country and collaborating with both public and private sectors to enable Thailand to capture new growth opportunities in the thriving digital economy,” Mr. Manat added.
True Corporation highlights the importance of the five building blocks to propel Thailand to the forefront of the digital economy.
C – Connectivity: Connectivity is the fundamental enabler of digital services and access to critical information. Reliable and inclusive connectivity services that offer stability and precision are essential for driving digital transformation. This is why True Corporation is committed to the development of digital infrastructure to meet global standards, including 5G and broadband. At present, True Corporation has the foundational infrastructure necessary to support Thailand’s full-scale digital economic growth through mobile and broadband services. True-dtac’s existing 4G network covers 99% of the population, and the 5G network covers 86% of the population, with a target to extend the population coverage to 97% by 2025.
T – Technology: True Corporation is moving forward to transform Thai businesses into tech companies, harnessing the power of technologies within the ecosystem, including AI, Blockchain, IoT, Robotics, and Quantum Computing. This initiative aims to inspire Thai people and organizations to adapt to ongoing technological changes, resulting in 1) higher revenue, 2) increased efficiency and productivity, and 3) improved cost management. Additionally, the focus on the API Economy will drive the Thai business sector to become sustainable digital organizations while propelling the country’s digital economy to the forefront. True Corporation has partnered with GSMA to develop the Open Gateway API, fostering innovation, enhancing security standards, and improving user experiences.
P – Platform as a Service (Platform services on Cloud): A complete platform development for maximum benefit. True Corporation focuses on three aspects; 1. Digital Media in which Thai people spent approximately 68 billion baht in 2022 (increased 12% from the previous year) on VDO games and video on demand 2. Digital Home: in 2022, there were 2.9 million households with Smart Home devices, increased 11.9% from the previous year and 3. Digital Health that has the potential to become the new S-Curve of Thailand in which True Corporation enhances the Telemedicine standard to match the quality of private hospitals via Mordee app while creating multiply growth opportunity of Digital health through collaboration with various industries including Insurance, Banking, IoT industry, logistic and public sector to provide quality medical service that is accessible to all Thais.
A – Analytics & AI (Artificial Intelligence): Leveraging insights from data to gain a deep understanding of user problems and demands, fostering innovation. Additionally, supporting the public sector in adopting analytics capabilities to proactively analyze public policy and establish an e-government structure. This includes utilizing insight data for designing plans and solutions, commencing with organizational digitalization through the utilization of digital systems and future AI.
P – People: True Corporation places significant emphasis on “People” as a crucial determinant of the success or failure of its digital transformation. Upskilling its employees to keep pace with the rapidly changing world is an urgent priority. According to the World Economic Forum, approximately 44% of the core skills in use today will become outdated within the next five years, with new careers emerging in the digital fields. True Corporation is taking proactive steps to upskill and reskill its employees, ensuring they are well-equipped for the challenges of the 21st century and can collaborate effectively with AI.
True Corporation’s vision, leveraging the combined strengths of True and dtac, has positioned it as Thailand’s leading telecom-tech company. This strategic move enhances operational efficiency, delivers greater value to consumers and businesses, fosters innovation for economic and social growth, and creates new opportunities for Thailand’s digital economy on the global stage.
