Thailand and Alibaba Group Sign Agreement to Help Thai SMEs Succeed in Online Commerce
December 08 2016 - 7:47AM
Business Wire
Agreement covers e-commerce training and
logistics development in support of Thailand 4.0 and Digital
Economy Strategies
Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak and Alibaba
Group’s Executive Chairman Jack Ma today witnessed the signing of a
Letter of Intent that will see Thailand and Alibaba cooperate on a
range of initiatives to develop e-commerce in the country through
providing training to SMEs and individuals, and exploring ways to
enhance the country’s logistics capabilities to support Thailand
4.0 and Digital Economy strategies.
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Thailand's senior government officials,
led by Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, and Alibaba
Group's management team, led by Executive Chairman Jack Ma,
attending the signing ceremony of an agreement to help Thai SMEs
succeed in e-commerce (Photo: Business Wire)
At the invitation of Alibaba, Somkid Jatusripitak led a
delegation comprising senior government officials and
representative of the private sector to Alibaba’s headquarters in
Hangzhou, China, where Thailand’s Permanent Secretary Wiboonlasana
Ruamraksathe and Alibaba Group President Michael Evans signed the
agreement.
“This visit to Alibaba represents a continuation of the
bilateral talks between the Prime Minister and Mr. Jack Ma,” says
Somkid Jatusripitak. “In order to strengthen the competitiveness of
Thailand’s SMEs and help them succeed in an increasingly digital
era, the Prime Minister has earlier assigned responsibilities to a
taskforce made up of government agencies and private enterprises to
work with Alibaba in a joint effort to lift the export capabilities
of Thai businesses, starting from the grassroots and community
level and extending to mid-tier businesses operating locally and
SMEs hoping to engage in export trade.”
“The signing of the agreement between the Ministry of Commerce
and Alibaba is in line with the government’s policy to drive
Thailand forward under the Thailand 4.0 and Digital Economy
strategies, and marks a new chapter in our public-private
partnership with world-class organizations and leading e-commerce
platforms, as well as academic institutions in the future,” he
added.
“We are very honored to have this opportunity to work with the
Thai government. And I would like to thank the Thai people for
their trust, because trust is the basis of any successful
partnership,” said Jack Ma at the signing ceremony. “Since the
founding of our company 17 years ago, Alibaba’s vision has always
been about empowering small businesses and young people,
particularly those in developing nations. We want to partner with
governments and organizations that share this vision and
commitment. By working together and applying technology and
innovative ideas, I believe we can make that vision a reality, and
magic will happen.”
The agreement covers four key areas, the first of which involves
offering e-commerce training to 30,000 Thai SMEs to aid their
access to both domestic and international e-commerce platforms.
Alibaba and its majority owned e-commerce platform in Southeast
Asia, Lazada Group, will help provide the training. They will also
share their experience and expertise with the Thai government to
help build Thailand’s own National E-Commerce Platform.
Secondly, Thailand and Alibaba will collaborate on the creation
of a nationwide People and Talent Development Program, which aims
to train around 10,000 individuals so they can be proficient in
digital technology. The two sides will also work together to
nurture software developers who will be given access to the China
market via Alibaba Cloud’s marketplace for their software apps
creations. Furthermore, senior government officials will receive
training at the Thailand Digital Government Academy, initially on
big data and artificial intelligence technologies. Alibaba and
Lazada will jointly run a train-the-trainer program to groom
e-commerce business coordinators who will in turn help SMEs
establish their own online export capabilities.
Thirdly, Alibaba and Lazada will contribute to the development
of the country’s supply chain and logistics systems by sharing
their experience and expertise with Thailand Post, in a bid to
expand the coverage of domestic delivery services to all provinces
across Thailand in 2017. Studies on Alibaba’s inventory management
systems and international e-commerce fulfillment services will also
be undertaken by Thailand Post to gain insight into the
establishment of bonded warehouses and fulfilment centers.
Lastly, Alibaba and the Thai government will explore cooperation
opportunities under the Eastern Economic Corridor Development
project and help establish Thailand as a hub of digital technology
and regional data centers in Southeast Asia.
The taskforce in charge of building upon the bilateral talks
between Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak and Jack Ma is led by
various agencies, including the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of
Digital Economy and Society, Ministry of Science and Technology,
the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion, the Small and
Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand, the Export-Import
Bank of Thailand, the Electronic Government Agency (Public
Organization), and Thailand Post Company Limited.
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Thailand Ministry of CommerceSuthida Ngernmuen, +66
25077857suthidan@ditp.go.thorAlibaba GroupRico Ngai, +852 9725
9600rico.ngai@alibaba-inc.com
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