Thailand digital content showcase set to generate THB500m in deals
Thailand is aiming to become a Hollywood of digital content in Asia after seeing revenue from the industry soar to over 11.5 billion baht in the past three years.
Revenue is being driven by the annual Multimedia Online Virtual Exhibition (MOVE), the latest edition of which was launched on Monday by Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit.
MOVE – a platform for deal-making between Thai and international digital content businesses – has been organised by the Commerce Ministry since 2019.
“During that period, we saw revenue from digital content rise to 11.63 billion baht, with 7.32 billion from films, 3.51 billion from animations and characters, 706 million from games, and 90 million from e-learning,” Jurin said on Monday.
“This shows that Thailand has strong potential to become a hub for digital content in Asia despite the Covid-19 situation,” he added.
MOVE also aligns with the government’s soft-power push to boost the economy, Jurin said. He explained that Thai digital films, series, TV shows, games and animation help promote “Thainess” overseas, which in turn boosts the country’s tourism industry.
“We don’t know when the Covid-19 outbreak will be over. Until then exports will continue to be the main force to drive the economy forward [instead of tourism]. Thai exports in the first half of this year totalled 5 trillion baht, increasing 12.7 per cent year on year, and digital content is part of this success,” he said.
MOVE runs until Wednesday as a hybrid event at Kantana Video Productions in Bangkok and https://move-ditp.com/. This year’s event is expected to attract over 10,000 participants and generate around 200 business deals worth over 500 million baht.