With an election on the horizon early next year and a raft of trade, technology and energy challenges, the country will have to dig deep to compete with its regional rivals

Sappaya Saphasathan, the parliament building located in the Kiakkai area of Bangkok’s Dusit district, dominates this photo to the left of a bend in the Chao Phraya River. The government decided to dissolve parliament on Dec 11.

Well ahead of the scheduled end of the administration’s four-month term, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul dissolved parliament on Dec 11 amid concerns over several outstanding issues, including the Thai–Cambodian border conflict and the relief measures needed to assist flood-affected communities in the South.

Thailand is now facing three significant challenges: a new global trade order, rapid technological transformation, and severe climate change.

The shift in trade rules driven by the United States’ reciprocal tariff policy echoes historic events such as the rapid appreciation of the yen in the 1980s, which triggered a large-scale relocation of production to Southeast Asia.

The Finance Ministry believes Thailand can benefit from these developments, as evidenced by the 1.3 trillion baht in investment applications received during the first nine months of 2025.

To seize this opportunity, the government launched “Thailand Fast Pass” in order to remove barriers and accelerate projects, with 480 billion baht already set aside for immediate investment.

Technological change and climate pressures also bring both risk and opportunity. They require the country to upgrade its infrastructure, embrace AI, and develop the skills of its workforce, while attracting data centres and unlocking clean energy through new regulations.

While the business sector accepts that it has to confront these challenges, it is concerned that the country still lacks the fundamental requirements needed to clear all the obstacles.

Thailand stands at an inflection point — AI, cloud and semiconductors are driving a multibillion-dollar opportunity to become a regional digital hub, says Mr Jain.

FRESH STRATEGIES

Dhanakorn Kasetrsuwan, chairman of the Thai National Shippers’ Council (TNSC), said Thailand must push forward its “Thailand Trade Resilience” strategy by implementing a trade early warning system and assessing trade relations with other countries and economic blocs.

The nation must negotiate new free trade agreements that truly benefit exporters, such as the India–Thailand Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the EU-Thailand FTA, and collaborations with the Gulf Cooperation Council and South America’s Mercosur trade bloc.

It’s also crucial to develop multi-route logistics infrastructure, with the goal of minimising reliance on land-border routes while boosting sea–rail connectivity.

Thailand should continue to upgrade its regulatory framework to meet global standards such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and due diligence, which requires unified national standards on carbon emissions and labour practices.

To address challenges stemming from technology transformation, the TNSC recommends establishing a “National Export Tech Acceleration Programme” to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in adopting digital strategies, implementing artificial intelligence (AI), and enhancing automation.

Mr Dhanakorn also called for the complete digitisation of trade documentation, which includes e-invoices, e-bills of lading, and e-certificates of origin.

He said the country must enhance workforce skills across various sectors, particularly in the fields of AI and robotics.

This investment in skills-building will ensure that Thailand’s labour force is prepared to support emerging service industries such as data labelling, predictive maintenance, and green technology.

Mr Dhanakorn added that climate change is the most significant risk for Thai exporters over the next three to five years, driven by carbon taxes, green procurement requirements, ESG audits, and stringent traceability standards.

TNSC urged the government to establish a national, centralised carbon footprint database to reduce business costs and create unified standards.

He also called for investment in energy transition infrastructure, particularly low-cost clean energy such as wheeling, power purchase agreements, and solar rooftop systems.

Mr Dhanakorn said additional support is needed for green supply chain development, including low-interest soft loans for machinery upgrades and funding to support carbon-reducing technology transitions.

“FTI urges state and private sectors to embrace sustainable strategies and reduce reliance on specific overseas markets. Varuth Hirunyatheb

FOUR-PRONGED STRATEGY

The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) believes its "4 GOs" campaign will help Thai manufacturers brace for challenges brought by the new global trade order, advanced technology and climate change.

The 4 GOs concept comprises Go Digital and AI, Go Innovation, Go Global and Go Green.

This means FTI members across 47 industries will be encouraged to apply advanced technologies to their businesses, make their manufacturing and products more environmentally friendly, and seek new markets, said FTI chairman Kriengkrai Thiennukul.

To cope with economic uncertainties caused by changes in international trade, the FTI is urging the state and private sectors to adopt more sustainable solutions by not relying on specific overseas markets.

He earlier suggested exporters seek new export markets, noting that their markets should not be limited to the US and Europe.

Entrepreneurs should consider more seriously expanding their businesses into the states that form the Gulf Cooperation Council, comprising Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.

In the field of technology, as well as working to encourage businesses to adopt more digital and AI technologies, the FTI is paying heed to bio-economy development.

It has partnered with government agencies, academic institutions and the industrial sector to drive the development of synthetic biology (synbio) technology and its industrial applications.

Synbio is a field of science that involves redesigning organisms, notably microbes, for specific purposes by engineering them to have new abilities.

Mr Kriengkrai said manufacturers should be more alert to the impact of global warming and adjust their production to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

“We need to go green for business sustainability and help Thailand achieve a net-zero target by 2050,” he said.

The four-pronged strategy is in place and the manufacturing sector is eager to translate it into action.

“But the government needs to help us by restoring and strengthening the Thai economy,” said Mr Kriengkrai.

Mr Pochara says Thailand’s future in the digital era depends on building a strong and sustainable tech system.

SUSTAINABLE SYSTEM CRUCIAL

Pochara Arayakarnkul, chief executive of Bluebik Group Plc, said Thailand’s ability to thrive amid rapid technological transformation hinges on building a strong and sustainable digital system.

Continued investment in digital infrastructure is essential but equally important is creating an environment that enables local technology companies to scale and compete globally, he noted.

To achieve this, Thailand should prioritise strengthening its whole tech system by promoting collaboration among startups, enterprises and academic institutions while encouraging the adoption of local tech products and services which will help domestic companies scale up, attract talent and draw foreign investment.

At the same time, developing and retaining skilled professionals through education, reskilling programmes and competitive incentives is crucial for sustaining long-term growth.

“As geopolitical tensions intensify, we are seeing more businesses in Thailand turn to local technology providers to minimise risk. This is the time to build tech sovereignty,” Mr Pochara said.

Piyush Jain, technology, media and telecommunications industry strategy, risk and transactions leader at Deloitte Southeast Asia, said Thailand is at an inflection point, with accelerating AI adoption, rising cloud demand and growing semiconductor activity combining to create a multibillion-dollar opportunity for the country to emerge as a regional digital hub, particularly when it comes to northern Southeast Asia.

Mr Jain sees significant opportunities for Thailand driven by strong local demand, as rapid AI adoption across enterprise automation, manufacturing, logistics and smart-city initiatives creates an immediate need for onshore graphics processing unit (GPU) capacity and low-latency inference services.

“Thailand can capture both domestic workloads and a growing share of regional traffic as demand across Southeast Asia expands,” he said.

The country can also attract GPU-centric infrastructure by positioning itself as a destination for GPU co-location and GPU-as-a-service providers serving local and neighbouring markets, with a focus on low latency, energy efficiency and AI-optimised facilities.

The country can differentiate its regional positioning as markets across Southeast Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific each carve out their own value propositions.

DISTINCTIVE POSITIONING

Mr Jain said Singapore has leveraged its connectivity and regulatory clarity to attract hyperscalers, Malaysia has capitalised on cost advantages, and Taiwan and South Korea continue to dominate advanced chip manufacturing.

“Thailand has the opportunity to establish its own distinctive position —focusing on AI-ready infrastructure, sovereign cloud zones and compliance-driven services that meet both domestic and regional demand,” Mr Jain said.

Tighter data regulations and geopolitical pressures are making onshore sovereign cloud and certified data zones increasingly attractive commercially.

Thailand can develop compliant, audited cloud services for finance, healthcare, the public sector and other regulated industries.

Sovereign and regulated cloud offerings are especially promising amid rising demand for data localisation, compliance and geopolitical risk management.

The country can capitalise on this momentum by expanding sovereign cloud capacity tailored to government and other highly regulated sectors, said Mr Jain.

While US export controls on certain GPUs pose a risk to Thailand, according to Mr Jain, they also create an opportunity to localise non-US accelerators and deepen partnerships with regional semiconductor and electronics ecosystems.

ROBUST INFRASTRUCTURE

If managed effectively, this balance of risk and opportunity could help Thailand establish itself as a credible and distinctive hub in the regional AI and data-infrastructure landscape, he said.

Chawapol Jariyawiroj, president of Huawei Technologies (Thailand), said that while technology and innovation are key drivers of economic stability, Thailand must ensure that its data-related foundational infrastructure and industry-specific technologies are robust enough to deliver meaningful impact.

To support Thailand’s economic development and ensure resilient telecom and connectivity systems, he recommended strengthening foundational infrastructure such as cloud computing, with an emphasis on high speed, minimal disruption and strong security capable of handling sensitive data.

With this foundation in place, Thailand can advance to developing industry-specific infrastructure and technologies that require specialised expertise and systems tailored to the needs of each sector.

As an example, he noted that Thailand aims to become a regional wellness and healthcare hub and has strong potential to attract high-quality visitors.

Technology can strengthen this ambition, but it relies on access to specialised data, such as health, behavioural and financial information, each of which requires tailored technological systems to operate effectively.

“Insightful data enables developers to build impactful applications that help industry operators deliver service excellence that is both valuable and sustainable,” Mr Chawapol said.

Mr Anutin (centre) has said he is keen to uphold security directives and sustain key economic stimulus measures while serving as caretaker. Chanat Katanyu

NEW POWER PLAN

Thailand is stepping up efforts to generate more renewable energy under a new version of the power development plan (PDP) to draw more foreign investors who demand more clean power to run their businesses, said a senior energy official who requested anonymity.

Under the 2024 PDP, which was scrapped following the change in administration and the need to revise some key energy issues, renewable energy’s share in the power mix was set to rise to 51% by 2037.

This proportion is now insufficient after Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced that Thailand aims to achieve a net-zero target, a balance between greenhouse gas emissions and absorption, by 2050, 15 years earlier than previously planned, said the official.

He said the ministry is drafting a new PDP to strengthen Thailand’s power supply and fuel management.

The 25‑year roadmap is scheduled to run from 2026 to 2050, extending the timeline from the 2037 target set in the 2024 version. Officials said the extension aligns the plan with the country’s net‑zero emissions campaign.

“This means clean energy will account for more than half of Thailand’s total power supply,” said the official.

A key feature of the new PDP is a proposal to install small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) to boost clean energy generation.

The 2024 PDP had already suggested building two SMR plants with a combined capacity of 600 megawatts.

The updated plan also aims to expand clean electricity production through direct power purchase agreements (PPAs), increasing capacity beyond the current 2 gigawatts under the state’s pilot scheme.

PPAs allow producers to sell electricity directly to companies, a mechanism particularly attractive to energy‑intensive businesses such as data centres.

While peer‑to‑peer power trading has been prohibited in Thailand, the PDP envisions reforms that would enable businesses to secure clean energy more efficiently.

The official emphasised that the proposals are designed not only to meet environmental goals but also to ensure Thailand remains competitive in attracting new investment.

“The measures outlined in the new PDP should be sufficient to keep Thailand on track and appealing to global investors,” he said.