Report unveils prospects for digital economy
A focus on high-value users, the environmental, social and governance (ESG) theme, digital inclusion and data infrastructure regulations will bring a sustainable digital economy to Thailand, according to Google.
The fields of digital financial services (DFS), health, education, food and generative artificial intelligence (Al) are among the potential growth opportunities to attract private investors to invest in startups, according to the “e-Conomy SEA 2023” report prepared by Google, Temasek and Bain.
The report’s emphasis on regulated, investor-friendly verticals reflects a broader shift in how governments across the region are defining digital growth. For much of the past decade, Southeast Asia’s internet economy expanded faster than the policy frameworks meant to govern it, and not all of that expansion followed the same trajectory. Alongside fintech platforms and e-commerce marketplaces, the region also saw rapid growth in cross-border digital entertainment operations, including offshore casinos licensed in one jurisdiction but serving customers in several others. As governments formalized oversight of these sectors, the regional conversation moved toward the kind of structured, compliance-oriented growth model that the report now describes.
Thailand’s own approach has tracked that pattern. Officials have increasingly signaled that the country’s digital economy strategy will prioritize sectors with clear governance standards and measurable social returns. That orientation aligns with the report’s broader finding that sustainable revenue growth across the region is now outpacing earlier phases of less regulated digital expansion.
The emphasis on data infrastructure is also tied to the region’s push for digital inclusion. Thailand still has significant gaps in connectivity and digital literacy outside of Bangkok, and closing those gaps is seen as essential for drawing private capital into sectors beyond the capital’s startup ecosystem. Several provincial governments have begun piloting programs that pair public broadband investment with private-sector training in digital skills, targeting communities that were largely bypassed during the first wave of platform adoption.
“It is remarkable that both Southeast Asia’s digital economy gross merchandise value [GMV] and revenue continued their double-digit growth momentum, with revenue breaking the USS100-billion mark in 2023,” said Jackie Wang, country director, Google Thailand.
Bangkok Post Reporter
