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Published on December 4, 2007

As China is a big potential market for local software developers, the park has collaborated with three organisations to create synergy when it comes to business between the two countries.

The collaboration is a result of Regional Software Park Forum 2007, which was hosted by Software Park Thailand three months ago. It is also a follow-up after the park launched the Go To US Market scheme earlier this year.

Software Park Thailand's director Suwipa Wanasathop said that after recently meeting with regional software-park operators, Software Park Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding with Singapore-Hangzhou Science and Technology Park (SHSTP) to create a partnership to bring the expertise of the park in the Chinese market to software developers in Thailand.

Operated by Ascendas, an Asian provider of business space, SHSTP is the largest technology park in Hangzhou, offering business addresses, business process outsourcing, and access to research and development industries in China.

Ascendas has invested 700 million Singapore dollars (Bt15 billion) to build the park and it plans that the first phase of Software Factory will be running by the end of next year. Suwipa said that through the partnership, SHSTP would help Software Park Thailand to develop markets, especially when local software companies want to penetrate the Chinese market.

As SHSTP understands the Chinese market well, under the agreement, SHSTP will send experts and consultants to train local software companies in Thailand, especially in cultural matters, market potential as well as how to succeed in China.

The partnership, Suwipa said, would also cover business match making between the two countries.

SHSTP will identify potential partners to match with Thai software businesses.

"China is a huge market for Thai software businesses but in the past, many Thai software businesses failed to test that market.

"This collaboration is to tackle the problem as we will help local software businesses to learn about the Chinese market and prepare them before going there," she said.

Since SHSTP is also designed to include University Park, where at least 14 universities will be located to train around 200,000 people a year, Thailand can also benefit from this infrastructure.

Suwipa said Software Park Thailand would also be able to tap Ascendas's large international business network to expand opportunities.

Acdendas operates technology parks in India, Singapore, China, South Korea and the Philippines.

To create better understanding of the Chinese market, Software Park Thailand also developed a second partnership with the Hangzhou Economic Development Area (Heda) to set up a business lab within SHSTP.

SHSTP is located in the Heda area.

Suwipa said the lab would be a means to study the Chinese market and opportunities and then feed the necessary information to Thai software businesses.

The park plans to hire two Chinese experts to take care of the tasks in the business lab and they will also be advisers for Thai businesses when they come to penetrate the Chinese market.

Software Park Thailand has also worked with East Software Park, a Chinese software-park operator in Hangzhou, to develop the software-park business.

Since East Software Park plans to expand its software-park business to Thailand, Software Park Thailand will help East Software Park to find local partners for the new park in Thailand. Two local partners have already shown interest in this project and they will soon begin talks for further collaboration.

"This partnership will help Thailand attract investment from aboard as the Chinese software-park operator also sees the potential of Thailand as a springboard to further penetrate markets in other countries in the region," Suwipa said.

Pongpen Sutharoj

 The Nation