T-GoodTech, J-GoodTech linked to boost Thai-Japanese trade

BANGKOK, July 22 (TNA) - The Thai government, through the Ministry of Industry, has joined forced with the Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, JAPAN (SMRJ) in developing a new electronic trade (e-trade) platform, dubbed the "T-GoodTech", aimed, among others, to boost two-way trade between the Thai and the Japanese economies in the coming years. Decha Chatutananant, Deputy Director-General of the ministry's Department of Industrial Promotion, told journalists of the update on July 21, stating that based on the agreed cooperation, his department has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the SMRJ to launch the Digital Value Chain Project to promote and support Thai SMEs to enhance their business potential and competitiveness. Decha explained that under the Digital Value Chain Project, Thai SMEs will be promoted and supported to access to global digital trade chains, particularly those in Japan, to propel their online trade. Decha said that the so-called "T-GoodTech" is, thus, being developed based on Japan's similar J-GoodTech model, in which there are over 20,000 Japanese business operators as members, to become a new platform where Thai firms can do their business matching with each other or with those in Japan or in other economies worldwide to boost their trade. Besides, the "T-GoodTech" platform can increase marketing channels for Thai business firms, particularly SMEs, and can become a trial online market for them towards their business expansion practically in the future. According to the senior official, there are now over 4,000 business operators becoming members of the newly-launched "T-GoodTech" platform, over 1,300 of them are also members of Japan's J-GoodTech. The senior official acknowledged that his department has developed the business potential of 50 members of the "T-GoodTech" platform towards their sustainable access to and growth in the global digital trade chains in the long term, five of them are outstanding ones, through the support of SMRJ experts. (TNA)