Thailand to pursue new policies to boost and protect digital economy

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand is pursuing new digital policies to handle emerging security threats including the impacts of U.S.-China rivalry on the economy and technology, its prime minister said on Friday.

“We will accelerate policies so that the digital economy makes up 30% of GDP by 2030,” Paetongtarn Shinawatra said in an address at the country’s National Defence College, adding this would also enhance cyber security.

The government is supporting the use of artificial intelligence to strengthen the agriculture sector and increase exports to China, she added.

Thailand stands to benefit from a potential trade war through re-location of investments from China and more exports to the United States, Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan has said previously.

Global tech companies have also been ramping up investments into Southeast Asia, particularly in Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand, as they vie for a greater presence in the region of 670 million, including a growing young and tech-savvy population.

Thailand has drawn in billions of dollars of investments in the tech sector, including a regional data centre for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and a $1 billion investment from Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in a data centre and cloud infrastructure.

The cloud computing unit of Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) has said it would invest $5 billion in Thailand over 15 years.