Thailand 4.0: The Kingdom of Opportunity
By: Evgeniy Zhukovets
Tags: Investment, Investment Opportunities, Thailand

On July 15, 2021, at 11 am GMT +3, the Worldwide Business Alliance of Russian-speaking Women held a discussion over a cup of morning coffee on topical issues of international partnership.

The central topic of the online meeting is “Thailand: The Kingdom of Opportunity”, which was covered in detail by Evgeny Zhukovets, founder and CEO at the international technology company Trizeri, as well as head of foreign economic activity (FEA) in Thailand and business Education of the Worldwide Business Alliance.

Thailand 4.0

The Royal Thai Government has laid out a 20-Year Strategy for Thailand to achieve high-income status by 2036. The strategy includes a wide range of top-down initiatives, especially in infrastructure and people development, to transform Thailand into a nation that can compete against wealthier, more knowledge-based economies.

The government calls the strategy “Thailand 4.0”, taking a cue from the concept of “Industry 4.0” aimed at transforming the country into an innovative, value-based industry, with an emphasis on 12 fields:

Health tourism

Integrated medical service

Future automotive

Robotics

Biofuel and biochemical

Biotechnology

Food processing

Aviation and logistic

Smart devices

Digital enterprises

Education

Defense

Next-Generation Automotive in Thailand

Next-Generation Automotive creates more values and innovations in all sectors for Thailand’s automotive industry. Today, there are more than 850,000 people working in Thailand’s automotive industry, covering the entire production process.

Several Japanese auto assemblers have tapped into the Thai talented workforce to embrace the new breakthrough technology of electric vehicles (EV). With a goal to become a global green automotive production base by 2021.

Thailand is the 1st automotive producer in ASEAN, the 11th world vehicle production, and has 0% excise tax for full EVs from 2020 to 2022.

Intelligent Electronics in Thailand

Intelligent electronics is a major sector of Thai’s economy. Thailand is the world’s leading electronics hub for consumer wearables, car electronics, smart home appliances, and complex components. In 2020, there are 2,503 companies operating in the electrical and electronics industry.

Advanced Agriculture & Biotechnology in Thailand

Advanced agriculture and biotechnology are the core of Thailand. Ranked in the world’s top 20 countries with high biodiversity, Thailand is a leader in deployment and R&D for precision and automated agriculture technology with innovation in biotechnology. Thailand is the 1st largest exporter of cassava starch in the world and the 2nd largest exporter of rice in the world.

Food for the Future in Thailand

Food for the future is one of the key industries driving the country’s economic development. Thailand is well-known as an agricultural powerhouse. It is the world hub for advanced food and nutrition manufacturers with significant investment in technology, food safety R&D, and sustainability enhancement.

Together with the food industry as a whole, they combine to contribute 23% of the country’s GDP. The US $ 393 million in food & beverages revenue in 2020, 26.2% is revenue growth in 2020, 300% tax deduction for RD&I expenditures.

High-Value and Medical Tourism in Thailand

High-value and medical tourism has become popular and is one of the profitable businesses today. Thailand is a global leader in medical tourism with state-of-the-art technology, incredibly affordable prices, and top-notch customer services. 39.8 million tourists in 2019 and more than 60 medical facilities with international healthcare accreditation.

Automation and Robotics in Thailand

Automation and robotics have transformed global productivity. Thailand is a leading ASEAN manufacturing hub for industrial robots focused on automotive, electronics, and food processing robots. The number of robots used in education and R & D has increased by 30%, the 10th place out of 63 countries in the distribution of robots in the world.

Aviation and Logistics in Thailand

Aviation and logistics shift east and demand for air travel are increasing in Asia, a significant number of new opportunities in the aerospace manufacturing and MRO industries are being created. Thailand is in a prime geographic location with industrial expertise which can leverage to achieve a quick win in the aviation business. The country has 38 commercial airports operating across Thailand and 13 pilot training centers.

Medical and Comprehensive Healthcare in Thailand

Medical and comprehensive healthcare represents a new kind of industry comprising healthcare businesses and medical tourism, of which both have pre-existing and strong foundations in Thailand. The country has 66 hospitals with JCI accreditation, the 1st importer and exporter of medical devices in ASEAN, and the 6th best in the world healthcare.

Biofuel and Biochemical in Thailand

Biofuel and biochemicals are set to see increasing growth and moving towards sustainable energy security and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Thailand has completed supply chains of both biofuel and biochemical. Reputed for its biodiversity and natural resources, Thailand hosts 8–10% of the world’s microorganism species and 8% of the world’s plant species. The country is the 1st biofuel producer in ASEAN, the 1st exporter of tapioca, and the 1st plastics converter in ASEAN.

Digital in Thailand

Digital is now mainstream. Investment opportunities in the digital industry are abundant in various sectors such as e-commerce, IoT, digital content, and cloud computing among others. Thailand Industrial Design Center predicts that over 61% of the country’s GDP will be digitalized by 2022, driving US$ 72 billion in IT-related spending from 2019 through 2022. The country has 52 million Internet users, 75% of Internet penetration and Thailand ranks 2nd in the world for the adoption of e-commerce.

Defense in Thailand

Defense aims to increase the efficiency of Thai military activities and supply domestic military forces, focusing on R&D and upgrading the efficiency and technology of the army, air force, and navy. Thailand offers an opportunity to modernize and upgrade military capability. The country will contribute 4% of total budget expenditure and the 3rd largest defense spending in Southeast Asia in 2020.

Education and Human Resource Development in Thailand

Education and human resource development are the primary focus Eastern Economic Corridor encourages collaboration between various educational organizations both domestically and internationally including vocational schools, universities, and private companies to develop the educational curriculum that meets the future demands and international standards. Thailand ranked 14th out of 82 countries for work opportunities and will create over 475,000 jobs over the next 5 years.