Thailand's IT ranking slips a notch
Published: 3/12/2011 at 12:00
Thailand has slipped one spot in its IT competitiveness ranking, but the country's PC software piracy rate is fast declining, says a new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Thailand's IT competitiveness ranking slipped to 50th in this year's IT Competitiveness Index, from 49th two years ago.
The Business Software Alliance (BSA), which sponsored the report, said blame falls mainly on deteriorating government support for industry development.
In the fourth update since 2007, the index gauges 66 countries via six indicators covering the critical foundation areas for IT innovation - overall business environment, IT infrastructure, human capital, research and development (R&D), legal environment and public support for industry development.
Topping the overall rankings this year were the US, Finland, Singapore, Sweden and the UK.
Within Asia, Thailand ranked 11th, directly behind China and ahead of the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.
The biggest movers in this year's index are Malaysia, which vaulted 11 spots from 2009's overall rankings thanks to an R&D surge, and India, leaping 10 places on the strength of its robust R&D and dynamic human capital environment.
Other countries posting strong overall gains this year were Singapore, Mexico, Austria, Germany and Poland, which showed new levels of strength across the board in all IT foundation areas.
Roger Somerville, the BSA's senior director for government and policy in the Asia-Pacific, said despite Thailand's slip, the good news is the country's PC software piracy rate is rapidly declining.
One way for Thailand to improve its ranking is for the government to embrace technology neutrality and maintain an open playing field for all players and technologies, he said.
The National ICT Policy Framework 2011-2020 states as a goal the strengthening of the country's IT/ ICT competitiveness in support of economic growth, particularly with the Asean Economic Community starting in 2015.
Varunee Ratchatapattanakul, BSA Thailand's spokeswoman, said the country has an opportunity to foster an environment conducive to IT competitiveness.
"With economists predicting more growth and disposable income in Thailand, we encourage policymakers to assess the years ahead and set priorities in the six areas identified in the report," she said.
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