The study, conducted from March to August this year, focussed on the status of e-commerce in Thailand and the impact of FTA on e-commerce in the country.

The study reported that Thailand does not have the required potential in e-commerce and electronic business to compete internationally since the country does not have a proper information infrastructure, government policy support  and law enforcement, compared to the US, Japan, Australia, New Zealand or Singapore.

Moreover, it found that Thailand still has a low penetration rate of telephones, computers and Internet facilities compared to other developing countries.

Kasititorn Pooparadai, chief researcher and project officer of the study, said the team had analysed e-commerce development in Thailand and found that Thai people still lacked IT skills and knowledge to transfer their traditional business into e-commerce. Also, businesses were not yet confident of running their affairs online.

"Most Thai businesses and consumers still feel that it is a risk to make transactions over the Internet. They are not confident about security and electronic transactions. Therefore, the Thai government should create confidence amongst consumers and initiate law-enforcement measures in the areas of e-commerce, electronic business and privacy protection, and support information infrastructure," he said.

Metta Ongkauwan, special lecturer of the National Institute of Development Administration, commented that the study should also cover other topics to include consumer protection, the origin of products, and government electronic-trading policy.

Worawoot Ounjai, managing director of Office Mate, who is also an e-commerce entrepreneur, said the study should use indicators for Thai consumer behaviour as a base since Thai consumers have different behaviour pattern when compared to others. The study should also use other indicators to conduct studies on law enforcement, and security and information infrastructure such as logistics, which is important in supporting e-commerce.

"To boost e-commerce in Thailand, three factors are involved: consumer behaviour, business development and law enforcement. Meanwhile, the government itself should play an important role to lay down the infrastructure and set up a clear policy for e-commerce development," he said.

Jirapan Boonnoon

The Nation