Bangkok Business Supplement - March 2017

Thai Internet use is dominated by smartphone
access, with more than 90 percent of respondents
to a recent survey saying that they use
their smartphone to access the Internet. Just
over 50% of responders said they also use a
desktop computer and 24.9% said they use a
laptop. Tablets came in last place, scoring just
15%. Regardless of device, Thailand has one
of the most active Internet user bases in South
East Asia.
With smartphone use being increasingly an
important market for handset makers and bandwidth
service providers alike, it was noted that
different geographic regions had different rates
of usage. In Bangkok 70% of respondents used
smartphones, but in the provinces the rate fell
to 39%.
Even with such an active user base, only 43.8%
of the Thai population has a smartphone and
it is expected to take another three years for
smartphone penetration to reach the 50% mark.
BUSINESS SUPPLEMENT
THAILAND NEWS
Thailand’s Kasikornbank bank is looking to
expand into Indonesia next year. The entry is
expected to be by way of acquisitions and then
local branding. The bank is also eyeing up the
Myanmar and Vietnam markets but has kept
its priority with Indonesia as the market size is
much larger, indeed it is approximately triple the
size of the Thai market.
The plans have met some roadblocks, in particular
a requirement by the Indonesian government
for overseas banks to acquire at least one
local entity. However stronger banks are not
allowed to be bought in Indonesia, in order to
keep the local market competitive.
Kasikorn bank also plans to further expand into
Cambodia and Laos and is expected to open up
a branch in each of those countries by the end
of this year.
The Thai government has announced that it
will stop subsidising sugar production by the
end of the year and will further end its control of
domestic end user prices. The move comes after
WTO negotiations where Brazil pointed out that
the Thai sugar subsidy undermines global prices
and stops other countries from being able
to competitively supply the local market. The
move by the Thai government was in response
to Brazils complaint.
The administrative director at the Sugar and
Cane Producing Board, Buntin Kotesiri, was
quoted as saying, “Our new policy will be to
let the price of sugar match that of the global
markets whereas before it was under the control
of the Ministry of Agriculture. We expect
these changes to come into effect at the end
of the year during harvesting season”. Brazil is
the worlds largest sugar producer, and Thailand
is the world’s second largest.
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