As Thailand moves toward digital transformation, the country’s telecommunications watchdog is taking up the challenge of transforming key economic sectors.
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has unveiled several initiatives to bring Thailand closer to full-scale digitalization. The NBTC disclosed its plans at the FOSSASIA Summit 2025, drawing major players in the open-source space.
In his keynote address, NBTC Chair Pachara Naripthaphan disclosed plans to revolutionize the government procurement process. Currently, Thailand’s procurement processes are hindered by red tape bureaucracy and multiple regulations, making adopting emerging technologies and achieving digitalization challenging.
Naripthaphan wants to integrate advanced tools and artificial intelligence (AI) into existing procurement processes. The executive wants the perks of increased transparency and efficiency in processes that emerging technologies, such as blockchain, offer. This would allow the country to eliminate excessive government spending and unnecessary delays.
“For instance, the open mapping or street mapping development project, which the private sector has been advocating for over the past two years, has encountered challenges within the government procurement process,” said Naripthaphan.
Apart from AI integration and rolling out Big Data initiatives, the NBTC is developing plans for open access and advocating for citizens to own a piece of the state management system.
While the Commission did not fully elaborate its plans for open access, pundits say the NBTC may adopt ideas from decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) for new governance standards.
Achieving full-scale digitalization will require significant efforts from the NBTC, but Naripthaphan is optimistic that Thailand can achieve this goal by increasing citizens’ awareness and knowledge on AI and other emerging technologies. In line with this, he shared plans to embed AI courses in the educational system to deepen the talent pool.
Additionally, the NBTC will advocate for open-source standards for emerging technologies and AI to align with its goal of becoming a leader in the Asia Pacific region.
As the nation advances towards enhanced digitalization, the Commission asserts that integrating emerging technologies within the payments sector will facilitate a more efficient transition. In January, authorities unveiled a digital currency pilot tailored for tourists in Phuket while advancing a government-backed stablecoin for the country.
The rollout of the $14 billion digital currency handout to citizens signaled a clear intention to embrace emerging technologies. Outside of Web3, the government is making concerted efforts to adopt AI tools while enterprises are racing to integrate large language models (LLMs) into their operations.
Taiwanese SMEs welcome emerging tech
Elsewhere in Asia, China’s adoption of emerging technologies is influencing its neighboring regions, particularly benefitting enterprises supported by Taiwan.
Nearly 100 enterprises with significant investment from Taiwan in China’s Xiamen City are reaping the benefits of digitalization, with small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) seeing an uptick in their productivity and efficiency levels.
Xiamen joins a handful of cities selected by Chinese authorities to test emerging technology integration for SMEs. Since giving the nod to join the pilot, local firms have joined initial experiments, with Taiwanese-backed firms at the forefront.
The report highlights real-life use cases of advanced machinery and intelligent robots in SME operations. In one instance, a Taiwan-backed circuit board manufacturer improved existing processes using robotics and automated pickers in a move designed for efficiency.
The manufacturing process used to be complicated, but recent integrations reduced it to a streamlined procedure that only requires four employees.
“They guided us in the digital system construction, process transformation, and some intelligent analysis,” said one SME owner. “Our production efficiency has improved by about 10 percent to 15.”
Taiwanese firms in Xiamen are not the only SMEs participating in the pilot. A raft of local Chinese companies are turning to emerging technology to improve their operations.
The use of robotics and AI in customer care for SMEs is continuously increasing. Meanwhile, technical staff are seeking solutions to enhance their productivity and are looking at the Internet of Things (IoT) to expand their capabilities.
“We have assisted more than 30 enterprises to complete digital assessment, and more than 20 enterprises to finish special transformation, effectively helping enterprises to solve the problems of low production efficiency and quality control,” read a government statement.
Taiwan is replicating China’s digitalization drive, turning to emerging technologies and AI for its transformation. Recently, the country announced the upcoming launch of its national digital wallet in line with existing anti-money laundering (AML) rules.
Furthermore, the Taiwanese government allocated $94 million to integrate advanced technologies into its national disaster preparedness. Despite this warm embrace, authorities are taking a hard stance against non-compliant firms, rolling out steep fines and jail terms for defaulters.
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