Rebooting Thailand's Future: Digital and Data Growth

MGR Online•Economy•17h ago

Reader Briefing

Thailand's digital leaders discuss infrastructure strengths and the need for AI human capital development at the Thailand Focus 2026 event.

•The event 'Thailand Focus 2026: Reignite Thailand' featured discussions on digital and data as growth catalysts.
•Theeranun Srihong highlighted Thailand's strong digital infrastructure but noted gaps in AI investment and specialized personnel.
•Suruj Thipsena reported that while Thais are creative with AI, productivity in the workplace lags behind Singapore and the Philippines.

•Theeranun Srihong and Suruj Thipsena spoke at the event 'Thailand Focus 2026: Reignite Thailand' under the topic 'Rebooting Thailand’s Future: Digital, Data and the Next Growth Catalysts'.
•Theeranun Srihong stated Thailand ranks 37th out of 70 countries in IMD's digital competitiveness index and 29th in infrastructure technology.
•Theeranun Srihong identified a lack of deep tech and AI experts, along with low AI research output from domestic academic institutions, as reasons for Thailand's 45th place ranking in future readiness.
•Theeranun Srihong outlined a new strategic plan focusing on high-level human capital, digital transformation for businesses to prevent value leakage, and AI adoption for SMEs in tourism, agriculture, and services.
•Theeranun Srihong mentioned the development of a Thai Large Language Model (Thai LLM) and central government data platforms such as Health Link and Travel Link.
•Suruj Thipsena noted that while Thai people have high creativity in daily AI usage, AI at work productivity is lower than in Singapore and the Philippines.
•Suruj Thipsena stated that the main challenge for AI commercialization is policy direction and clear business mandates for cross-departmental data coordination.
•Suruj Thipsena emphasized the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) for creating joint policy standards and smart infrastructure like Smart Grids.

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Theeranun Srihong(ธีรนันท์ ศรีหงส์)

Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of the Digital Economy Promotion Agency.

Suruj Thipsena(สรุจ ทิพเสนา)

Country Manager for Google Cloud Thailand.

Digital Economy Promotion Agency(สำนักงานส่งเสริมเศรษฐกิจดิจิทัล)ℹ️

An agency whose supervisory committee is chaired by Theeranun Srihong.

Google Cloudℹ️

A global cloud service provider represented in Thailand by Suruj Thipsena.

IMD

The International Institute for Management Development which ranks digital competitiveness.

Big Data Institute(สถาบันข้อมูลขนาดใหญ่)ℹ️

An entity coordinating and improving central government data centers.

ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement(ข้อตกลงกรอบเศรษฐกิจดิจิทัลอาเซียน)

A framework creating joint policy standards, data coordination, and smart infrastructure in the ASEAN region.