As the digital economy and tech-driven capitalism continues to rise, PTT, a Thai state-owned SET-listed oil and gas company, has plans to join hands with a leading tech-platform in Silicon Valley to drive the Thai economy.
With the intention to transform Thailand through digital transformation, the company announced its collaboration with an innovation platform company based in Silicon Valley.
The collaboration will groom Thai and international investment start-ups with three major fintech platforms in their portfolio to aimed at raising national competitiveness under the Powering Thailand’s Transformation initiative.
The public company hopes to create an international Innovation Ecosystem with the Partnership and Platform strategy to become more than just a manufacturer and distributor. To this end, it hopes to attract potential partners such as large firms and tech start-ups globally, through the innovation platform company, as an accelerator platform to drive its business.
The PTT Senior Executive Vice President, Innovation and Digital, stated that the collaboration is a good opportunity for us to make the most of our potential to be creative and innovative, and then achieve concrete outcomes.
It is also an opportunity to learn from leading companies and use what we learn to improve, so PTT and Thailand can compete globally.
In doing this, the public company will have more partnership channels and earn more recognition. This will enable the company to establish direct contact with tech companies. Moreover, data obtained from different start-ups and firms can be invaluable for PTT itself in extending the company’s s-curve with its ExpresSo team.
Expert at innovation and tech business, PTT ExpresSo has a firm hold on three blueprints.
New Energy is the idea of building a business with alternative energy for sustainability and energy security by adopting technology for effective maintenance of solar cells for example.
New Mobility is the notion of improving domestic transport systems to reduce pollution for better quality of life for people, including battery production for electric cars.
New Industry is the concept of driving Thailand’s capacity to compete under Industry 4.0 management and maintain national economic security such as artificial intelligence (AI) systems for factories.
The VP, Corporate Innovations, APAC at the innovation platform company stated that leading tech companies will collaborate, including companies in energy and sustainability, real estate, autos, internet of things (IoT), and health. They are ready to solve problems in response to PTT’s needs, especially how to develop alternative energies, drive new transport forms and propel Thai industry into Industry 4.0.
With over 32 global affiliations, the Plug and Play platform brings together over 400 leading corporations and start-ups. It also facilitates over 50 business accelerations and supports more than 10,000 start-ups every year.
Transforming Thailand
The COVID-19 pandemic has irreversibly impacted and changed the world as we know it, OpenGov Asia recently reported.
Overall, ICT has played an important role in battling COVID-19, and it will continue to factor in economic recovery in the new normal.
One report found that in the first quarter of 2020, social distancing practices led to an average broadband consumption increase of 47 percent to 402.5GB, from 273.5GB during the same time in 2019.
While most of this is attributable to an increase in online video consumption, the pandemic has given rise to new consumer behaviour that includes increased use of delivery apps, more frequent and immersive video conferencing, and greater dependence on e-Education and work-from-home solutions.
These systems have existed for years but the uptick in usage in the last few months has brought them to the forefront; it is believed that even post-pandemic, usage levels are expected to remain high.
The ASEAN region is expected to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, economic entities in Asia. Many countries are pushing hard to secure the leading position in digital transformation, and while the title is still for the taking, 5G will help all ASEAN nations move from predominantly 2C-focused mobile broadband business models to 2B.
This will be paramount for digital transformation in many vertical industries including healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, logistics and more.
Proactive policies that accelerate the deployment and adoption of digital services are key to moving the economy ahead and ensuring continued reliable operation even in the face of adversity.
Thailand’s digital infrastructure of the future needs to be agile enough to accommodate new applications and behaviours as well as robust enough to serve as a reliable digital platform for the economy even when unpredictable situations arise.