E-commerce for SMEs in three ASEAN countries: Barriers and Benefits
REGIONAL ECONOMIC STUDIES PROGRAMME SEMINAR
About the Seminar
E-commerce is increasingly important in ASEAN countries, especially in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Government policies in these countries are focused on encouraging e-commerce, especially cross-border e-commerce for their respective small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as a means for facilitating exports. Cross border e-commerce can help SMEs to overcome some of the fixed costs encountered in exporting. This seminar will present the findings of a study conducted in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, using an exploratory survey for SMEs, based on the same survey instrument. The study seeks to identify the key barriers and benefits as perceived by the SMEs who are the respondents in the individual country study.
About the Speakers
Titik Anas is Founder of PT Rumah Riset Presisi Indonesia, an economic and business research-based consultancy firm and a member of Board of Directors at Yayasan Inovasi Bumi in Indonesia. Titik’s research interests are in the areas of international trade, macroeconomics, industrial organization, investment policies and small-scale business developments. Some of her recent research projects include: “Evaluating the Business Environment in Indonesia”; “Missing Middle in Indonesia Manufacturing Exports”, and “The Efficiency of Major Ports in Indonesia”. She was formerly a researcher at Department of Economics, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Indonesia. She has undertaken numerous research projects in policy related aspects of international trade, industrial organization, competition policy and macroeconomics. Titik also works as a lecturer at Faculty of Economics and Business, Padjajaran University in Bandung, Indonesia where she lives with her family. Titik holds a PhD degree in Economics from Australian National University.
Nur Afni Panjaitan is a Researcher at PT. Rumah Riset Presisi Indonesia, where she has been working since 2014. She is working on a broad range of research topics, including small and medium enterprise development, trade in services, and the creative economy. Her recent publication includes “Indonesian SME Participation in ASEAN Economic Integration”. She is also pursuing her Master’s degree at Padjadjaran University.
Tham Siew Yean is Senior Fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore. She was formerly Director and Professor of International Trade at Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Her research interests cover trade in goods and services as well as foreign direct investment (FDI), including BRI projects from China in Malaysia. She has served as a consultant with national agencies such as Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Malaysia, and international agencies such as World Bank, World Bank Institute, Asian Development Bank and Asian Development Bank Institute. She has published extensively on trade-related issues in books and journals such as Journal of Contemporary Asia, Emerging Markets, Finance and Trade, Asian Economic Panel and Prague Economic Papers, besides co-editing several books published by international publishing houses. She has a PhD in Economics from University of Rochester, USA.
Yot Amornkitvikai is a Lecturer at College of Population Studies, Chulalongkorn University. Previously, he was Assistant Professor at Faculty of Economics, Rangsit University. Prior to his academic career, Yot served as a senior analyst at the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and account officer at Siam Commercial Bank PCL (Head Office). He has worked on a range of issues, including e-commerce, enterprise performance, firm productivity, cost efficiency, technical efficiency, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), and listed enterprises. He has also published in a number of journals such as Journal of Australasian Accounting Business and Finance, Journal of Asian Economics, and Singapore Economic Review and has forthcoming book chapters in books that will be published by ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute and Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI). Yot holds a Ph.D. in Economics from University of Wollongong.
Jiraporn Tangpoolcharoen is a Specialist at the Electronic Transactions Development Agency of Thailand. She has been responsible for conducting the survey on Thailand’s Internet user profile, which collects information on the characteristics and behavior of Thai Internet users since 2013 and
the Value of E-Commerce survey in Thailand since 2015. The survey gathers statistical information on E-commerce in the country with complete coverage approved by internationally accepted standards. She has a Master’s degree in Computer and Engineering Management, from Assumption University and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Thammasat University.
Registration
For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents3@iseas.edu.sg by 14 May 2019.