Industry 4.0 Policies in Thailand

SINGAPORE APEC STUDY CENTRE SEMINAR

About the Seminar

The Thai government has implemented a number of policies to harness the potential of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0).  These policies can be categorized into three broad categories, namely, digital infrastructure, skill formation, and targeting industries.  As is often observed for other policies in Thailand, the policy coverage for Industry 4.0 is wide where every single aspect is included without a clear priority. There is no effective mechanism to assess these policies and their implementation depends largely on government agencies’ preferences. The existing assessment mechanism induces these agencies to undertake easy-to-achieve activities such as training. Activities that are critical to lay down a solid foundation to harness the potential of industry 4.0 are unlikely to be implemented. The government has expressed interests in e-activities such as the provision of support for e-commerce platforms and social media applications. Together with the stringent cyber security law, this could be counter-productive and jeopardize business opportunities emerging from industry 4.0.

About the Speaker

Archanun Kohpaiboon is currently an Associate Professor in the Faculty Economics, Thammasat University, Thailand. He specializes in trade, FDI and industrial development.  A well-known economist in Thailand, Dr Archanun has won numerous research awards including the Best Young Economist in 2006 awarded by a jointing committee of seven Leading Economics Research Institutes in Thailand.  He has published extensively in leading peer-reviewed journals such as World Development, Asian Economic Journal and Research Policy. He is currently editor of the Thammasat Economic Journal.  Dr Archanun received his PhD from the Australian National University.

Registration
For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents3@iseas.edu.sg by 20 March 2019.