Bangkok, Thailand – Thailand’s ambitious goal of reaching level 3.0 in its digital transformation by 2025 is significantly delayed, currently stagnating at level 2.0, admits the head of the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa). Citing the lingering impacts of COVID-19, SME liquidity constraints, and production base shifts hindering investment, depa President/CEO Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin is spearheading the “PromptTrade” initiative to urgently simplify trade processes and boost competitiveness. Amid fears of losing ground to regional rivals, he stresses the critical need for cross-sector collaboration and highlights the “dSure” certification program as vital for ensuring digital standards, transparency, and preventing fraud, particularly in government procurement.
Thailand’s journey towards becoming a fully-fledged digital economy faces significant headwinds, threatening to derail its 2025 digital transformation targets. The nation’s progress, initially benchmarked for reaching a ‘level 3.0’ maturity within a four-year timeframe starting in 2021 (BE 2564), has demonstrably slowed, currently hovering around level 2.0, a situation acknowledged with concern by the leadership of the agency tasked with driving this critical agenda.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin, President and CEO of the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa), provided a candid assessment of the situation. “Realistically, looking back at our assessment in 2021, the plan was to reach level 3.0 by 2025, within four years. Today, we find ourselves at level 2.0, which clearly indicates we are delayed,” Dr. Nuttapon stated.
This delay stems from a confluence of challenging factors that have dampened the momentum of digital adoption and investment across the Thai economy. Firstly, the profound and widespread impact of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted businesses and supply chains. Secondly, the subsequent economic fallout severely impacted the financial liquidity of many enterprises, particularly Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), making significant investments in digital technologies a difficult proposition. Thirdly, heightened global competition and strategic shifts in foreign direct investment (FDI), including the relocation of production bases by large multinational corporations, have created an environment of uncertainty. This uncertainty has made SMEs, often integral parts of larger supply chains, hesitant to commit to transformative digital investments.
“The business owners I speak to, especially in industry, echo this sentiment. They say, ‘If I invest now, but the main company moves its base, my investment becomes worthless.’ So, they hold back, delaying investment,” Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon explained. “This directly impacts the transformation of medium and small enterprises within the supply chains linked to large FDI. This is a critical issue.” The reluctance of these SMEs to upgrade digitally creates a bottleneck, hindering the overall progress of Thailand’s digital ecosystem.
“PromptTrade”: A Digital Lifeline to Unlock Trade and Reignite Growth
In response to these pressing challenges, depa is vigorously championing a flagship initiative designed to serve as a new engine for the digital economy and enhance national competitiveness: “PromptTrade”. This ambitious project aims to establish a comprehensive digital platform to streamline and simplify Thailand’s import-export procedures, significantly reducing paperwork, accelerating processing times, and increasing transparency.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon emphasized that reigniting progress towards the level 3.0 goal requires a two-pronged approach: retaining existing large-scale investments and attracting new, innovative industries. However, a significant barrier frequently cited by foreign investors and traders is the perceived complexity and bureaucratic hurdles involved in conducting trade with Thailand.
“When potential investors consider coming here… they question why trading in Thailand seems so difficult, encountering various obstacles,” Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon noted. PromptTrade is conceived precisely to address this pain point. However, its development is not without challenges, including intense competition from neighbouring countries rapidly advancing their own digital trade platforms. “Vietnam is aggressively moving forward, raising its hand to do this. Malaysia highlights its English-speaking advantage and is also developing similar capabilities. Singapore is active too. This is happening even though Thailand has immense talent, with strong banking associations and ITMX (National ITMX Co., Ltd.),” he observed.
Despite Thailand’s inherent capabilities, past efforts in this domain faltered due to a lack of coordination and siloed thinking. Recognizing the urgency, depa has now stepped decisively into a central coordinating role. Crucial discussions have already commenced with key stakeholders, including the Thai Bankers’ Association, ITMX, logistics provider associations, major commercial banks, and, significantly, the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission (OPDC).
The operational strategy involves depa designing and developing the core backend system for the digital trade platform. Simultaneously, the OPDC, leveraging its authority to coordinate government agencies, will work to ensure that relevant state bodies – such as the Customs Department, the Department of Industrial Works, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, and others involved in import-export licensing, inspection, and approval – streamline their processes and enable seamless data exchange with the PromptTrade platform.
“If Thailand can successfully launch this, the transformation towards 3.0 will accelerate significantly. Because when everyone finds it easier to trade, they will have the funds, the confidence, to reinvest in their businesses,” Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon projected. He also clarified that PromptTrade is not intended to duplicate the existing National Single Window (NSW) system but rather function as a “subset” focused specifically on optimizing the import-export processes within the broader NSW framework.
The path forward, however, requires navigating considerable complexity, primarily in building trust and securing cooperation among a diverse array of stakeholders – a far more intricate task than the PromptPay e-payment system, which primarily involved the banking sector under the Bank of Thailand’s oversight. “Before reaching the export stage… there are so many parties, so many stakeholders involved. Therefore, we must build trust… It takes time. It might look easy, but it requires immense effort and energy. But if we succeed, it will be the kind of critical infrastructure Thailand should have had eight years ago,” Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon admitted, underscoring both the difficulty and the vital importance of the initiative.
“dSure”: Building Digital Trust and Standards
Complementing the efforts to unlock trade facilitation, depa is also reinforcing another crucial pillar: the “depa Digital Sure” or “dSure” program. This initiative provides a certification framework and maintains a list of digital products and services that have met depa’s verification and standard requirements. The goal is to foster trust and confidence among consumers and organizations, both public and private, when procuring or utilizing digital solutions. Currently, 168 providers offering nearly 600 distinct digital products and services have achieved dSure certification.
The dSure verification process encompasses three key areas: 1) Safety, adhering to standards set by the Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI); 2) Functionality, tested by university laboratories and private labs accredited with relevant ISO standards; and 3) Cybersecurity, a critical area currently facing limitations due to a scarcity of testing facilities. Presently, only the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) and the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), under the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), possess the comprehensive capabilities for this type of security testing.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon expressed deep concern about this bottleneck in cybersecurity testing capacity and revealed ongoing efforts to advocate for increased government support – not for depa itself, but for capable universities like Chulalongkorn University, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), and King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB). The vision is to empower these institutions to develop state-of-the-art cybersecurity labs, enabling them to offer testing services vital for national security and industry development, while simultaneously providing practical, industry-relevant experience for faculty and students. “I’m not asking for money for depa. I’m asking for funds to enable you [the universities] to develop Security Labs… It provides practical experience within the industrial products sector too,” Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon urged.
Addressing potential concerns about the dSure program potentially leading to “specification locking” or market monopolies, Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon firmly refuted such claims. He emphasized that dSure is open to all qualified vendors and functions by establishing minimum standards and appropriate price ranges for comparable core services, such as cloud computing. The list includes major global players (AWS, Huawei, Alibaba, Microsoft) alongside Thai providers like INET. Users are free to choose based on their needs, assured of baseline quality and fair pricing. Added-value solutions or specific services bundled with the core offering remain subject to competitive bidding based on technical merit and price, following standard procurement procedures.
“Therefore, we don’t see it as monopolizing the market at all. Instead, we are helping consumers get standard-compliant products at prices where they aren’t cheated… and helping the government avoid being cheated. That’s a key point… [it reduces] opportunities for corruption,” Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon asserted. He cited examples of past government procurement where IoT devices were purchased at vastly inflated prices compared to listed costs, a problem dSure aims to mitigate by promoting transparency and benchmark pricing. Furthermore, dSure synergizes with the Office of SMEs Promotion’s (OSMEP) ISP (Improving Service Provider) program, allowing SMEs using dSure-listed services to potentially access funding support from OSMEP, creating a win-win situation.
A Call for Unity Amidst Global Competition
Despite the clear benefits of dSure, its adoption, particularly within government agencies for procurement, currently remains voluntary. Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon acknowledged his preference for wider, potentially mandatory, adoption but understands the resistance and technical considerations involved. “We haven’t implemented it as mandatory; we rely on voluntary adoption. Hmm, whether one acts in good faith or bad faith is up to the individual… If it deviates from the standard, well, you see a standard price of 5,000 versus paying 200,000,” he remarked, hinting at the need for mechanisms that encourage adherence to fair practices and value for money.
Ultimately, the depa President/CEO concluded with an urgent appeal for unified action from all sectors – government, private enterprise, and academia. He stressed that accelerating digital transformation and overcoming trade barriers is paramount, especially given the rapid advancements and competitive advantages of neighboring countries, some of which leverage factors like English proficiency and faster development cycles, sometimes by adapting existing concepts.
“Singapore started earlier and has achieved complete functionality. Malaysia… you see this ‘copy-development’ phenomenon. Once copied, development is incredibly fast… and they have native [English] speakers… We are at a disadvantage,” Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon warned. He expressed concern that continued delays and a lack of cohesive effort could lead Thailand to lose critical trade and investment opportunities to regional competitors. “If things continue like this… we were the country that thought of these ideas first, are we going to lose to them?… It seems impossible. We thought of it first but are slow. I don’t know exactly why we’re slow, but it’s because we aren’t collaborating effectively. The government, this time, really needs to step up. Otherwise, we all risk decline – both the public and private sectors. This isn’t about any single entity; we must work together.”
Thailand’s digital economic future stands at a critical juncture. Navigating the path forward successfully demands not only strategic initiatives like PromptTrade and dSure but also a fundamental shift towards greater collaboration, decisive action, and a shared national commitment to embracing the opportunities and overcoming the challenges of the digital age.
#DigitalEconomy #depa #PromptTrade #dSure #DigitalTransformation #Thailand #TradeFacilitation #ThaiEconomy #SME #FDI #Cybersecurity #ASEAN #TechStandards
