Thailand Grows as a Regional Center for the IT Industry

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Feb 26, 2014, 12:00 ET

BANGKOK, Feb. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- For more than a decade, Thailand's government has been committed to positioning the country as a world leader in the technology industry, through infrastructure improvements, growing its high-tech talent pool and providing a superior business climate for multinational tech companies. Today, Thailand is considered a leader in providing Information Technology (IT) products and services.

In recent years, Thailand's IT sector has experienced a particular uptick in foreign demand for its IT outsourcing services, as a growing number of companies have "set up shop" in Thailand to take advantage of its trained IT workforce, solid IT infrastructure and leading incentives. Currently, Thailand ranks eighth on the list of top rated outsourcing countries based on the country's cost index, resources and skills and qualified workforce. In addition, Thailand sees major growth potential in the outsourcing segment with growing demand from countries like the United States, where 43 percent of companies utilize offshore outsourcing for IT services. Outsourcing will continue to be a major contributing factor to the growth of Thailand's IT sector, which is expected to grow 7.2 percent this year to $22.4 billion, up from $18.8 billion in 2010.

"We are pleased to see firsthand the progress Thailand has made in the area of information technology, and the growth of this sector in recent years," said Supisara Chomparn, Director of the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) North America in New York. "Expanding and growing the IT sector remains a high priority for Thailand and BOI in the coming years, and we remain committed to continually improve our IT infrastructure and workforce talent to support the demand of foreign companies looking to relocate their IT services overseas."

A key factor for companies choosing to outsource to Thailand is the government's continued support and dedication to making Thailand a smarter, more innovative country. The Thailand Board of Investment North America (BOI) is dedicated to strengthening Thai businesses and communities by providing state-of-the-art IT services to several industries, such as healthcare, food and retail.

In the area of talent, Thailand recognizes the need to train future IT employees. At the university level, a number of intensive technology programs have been put in place to build this necessary workforce pipeline of highly skilled tech workers. These university programs aim to produce 50,000 business technology students per year to support Thailand's growing IT sector.

In addition, Thailand has been involved in annual forums that deliver policy-level knowledge, exchange of ideas and dialogue for developing and adapting IT services in the education, government and industry sectors.

While outsourcing services have been a steadily expanding IT function in Thailand, the country has a number of other services to offer for both businesses and the public. Other investment opportunities in the technology sector include enterprise software, animation and computer-generated imagery, online games or Windows-based games, multimedia video conferencing applications, E-learning content via broadband or multimedia and embedded software. In addition, web-based applications and mobile platforms have transformed the Thai people into a tech-savvy population with more than 20 million internet users, 78.7 million mobile subscribers, 3.4 million broadband subscribers and 18.3 million Facebook users.

About The Thailand Board of Investment, New York Office

The North American Thailand Board of Investment is the inward investment agency that assists US companies and investors in identifying business opportunities in Thailand and the surrounding Asian markets. We provide businesses with investment information, customized tax incentives and connections to potential domestic partners and suppliers. Our goal is to directly connect your company with the resources it needs to be successful in Thailand.

SOURCE Thailand Board of Investment