Thailand joins forces with "Alibaba" to move towards digital hub

BANGKOK, April 18 (TNA) - The Thai government, through the Ministry of Commerce, has joined forces with the "Alibaba" group, China's e-commerce giant, to develop the e-commerce system for Thai small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), paving the way for Thailand to become a regional digital hub in the future. Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn told journalists on April 17 that she has assigned her ministry's Department of International Trade Promotion to work together with other agencies concerned to jointly proceed with a cooperation framework earlier agreed between "Alibaba" and the Thai government. According to the minister, the "Alibaba" group-Thai government cooperation framework includes the capacity building for running online businesses among Thai SMEs, covering those in the agricultural sector, and the development of Thailand's National E-Commerce Platform through her ministry's New Economy Academy (NEA). The minister said NEA, which was inaugurated on January 26, 2017, has launched the "SMEs 4.0 e-commerce training program" for over 4,200 Thai SMEs so far, working together with Lazada.co.th, an affiliate of the "Alibaba" group. The minister acknowledged the the "Alibaba" group-Thai government cooperation framework also includes training programs for Thai digital personnel nationwide to upgrade their potential that have been jointly launched between Lazada.co.th and Thailand's newly-established Ministry of Digital Economy and Society and the integrated development of the Thai logistics system to upgrade the country's supply chains in a concrete aspect, involving all agencies concerned. Besides, the "Alibaba" group has agreed to invest in Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Project, firstly through the Lazada e-commerce park project, in which a sophistically-comprehensive environmentally-friendly logistics system will be developed to facilitate Thai SMEs to explore and run their regional and global networks in line with the Thai government's 4.0 economic policy. (TNA)