German model cited for technology push

Peter Pruegel, the German ambassador to Thailand, said in his opening remarks for a conference in Bangkok yesterday titled “Industrie 4.0 in Thailand 4.0” that the former term, now widely used in reference to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, started out in Germany more than a decade ago.
“Since then, we have been following this strategic approach towards the digitalisation in industry and services with great success. Other countries have become our cooperation partners. We work closest with the US, Japan and China to mutual benefits.” 
He said Germany also wanted to reach out to other countries, including Thailand.
“With Thailand, we feel that we have found a very committed and open partner as reflected by the government’s Thailand 4.0 policy.
“The world around us continues to change. All nations are awakening to the call of this fundamental transformation, so it is not an option whether to join or not. The question is whether we manage to lead the movement or simply follow it,” he said.
Industry Minister Uttama Savanayana said the government was focusing on helping the Thai private sector develop core technologies for target industries, while leading the way for new infrastructure schemes such as the Eastern Economic Corri-dor to tap new economic potential.
In addition, the government will help small and medium-sized enterprises adapt to new technologies and prepare the country’s workforce for Industrie 4.0, Uttama said.
Chen Namchaisiri, president of the Federation of Thai Industries, said a major upgrade of the agricultural sector via the Thailand 4.0 programme would help bring the country out of the middle-income trap. 
“At present, 40 per cent of the Thai population work in agriculture, but they contribute only 9 per cent to the country’s GDP. If farmers’ incomes are lifted with new technology, they will help take the country out of the current middle-income trap.
“As a result, the government should focus on the upgrade of the farm sector and linkages with food processing and other industrial sectors,” he said.
Other target industries include the automotive, electronic, healthcare/medical, biotech, tourism, and aviation-space sectors.
Citing a PricewaterhouseCoopers study, Chen said the world’s future growth industries were likely to be those using artificial intelligence, augmented reality, blockchain, drones, the Internet of Things, robotics, and 3D printing.
The FTI president also said it was important to retrain the Thai workforce for the digital revolution and lead changes in various manufacturing and service industries, but he added that the challenges were big because most Thai industries are still only “2.5 or 3.0” at this stage.
Markus Lorenzini, president of the German-Thai Chamber of Commerce, said the Thai government should focus on tax incentives and other tools to help SMEs, which account for more than 99 per cent of the country’s overall enterprises, and adapt to technological changes, while workers also need to upgrade their skills.