Kan tabs country to make top 25
Thailand is expected to climb up to 25th in the innovation index rankings over the next 2-3 years thanks to government support policies and a strategic programme to promote R&D, as well as active spending by the private sector.
Kan Trakulhoon, a member of Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Committee, said as the ecosystem to promote innovation is a very important component of generating innovation upgrades, this government has played a significant role in promoting innovation and R&D as clearly indicated by a significant increase of venture capital firms over the last three years.
Thailand’s R&D spending has accounted for only 0.2% of GDP for the past decade. The figures rose to 0.62% to GDP in 2015 when the government kick-started a supporting policy to promote R&D spending.
The latest information showed R&D spending made up for 0.78% of GDP in 2016 or 130 billion baht, with 70% of spending coming from the private sector.
R&D is estimated at 0.9% of the GDP in 2017 or around 145 billion baht.
“R&D is expected to reach 1% of GDP this year,” said Mr Kan, who is the former president and chief executive of Siam Cement Group.
“This shows that Thailand is entering a new era of innovation,” he said.
The Bloomberg 2018 Innovation Index ranked Thailand 44th, with South Korea, Sweden, Singapore, Germany and Switzerland being named the top five innovative countries.
The annual ranking is based on seven parameters, including R&D expenditure, productivity and concentration of hightech public companies, tertiary efficiency, research concentration and patent activity.
Mr Kan said the government’s EEC zones for innovation and digital, two of the five promotional zones of the government’s flagship project, will be instrumental to the country’s R&D development.
The EEC was designed by the government to be the key growth driver for the economy.
The corridor spans a combined 30,000 rai in the provinces of Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao to accommodate investment in 10 targeted industries: nextgeneration cars; smart electronics; affluent medical and wellness tourism; agriculture and biotechnology; food; robotics for industry; logistics and aviation; biofuels and biochemicals; digital; and medical services.
The two promotional zones offer investors the highest investment privileges. Highranking executives, experts and researchers who work for companies investing in targeted industries and headquartered in the EEC are allowed to enjoy a flat tax rate of 17% personal income tax charge.
The current personal income tax structure has seven brackets. Taxable income of 150,001-300,000 baht is charged a rate of 5%, progressing upward to brackets of 300,001-500,000 (10%), 500,001-750,000 baht (15%), 750,001 to 1 million (20%), 1-2 million (25%), 2-4 million (30%) and over 4 million (35%).