23 INTERNATIONAL TECH HUBS THIRD EDITION | BDO LLP
THE TALENT POOL Thailand’s skilled workforce is a strong factor in its development as a leading digital economy. As of 2018, there were c31,000 people working in ICT-related fields, the majority of them graduates of the country’s 120+ universities that offer ICT programs. Thailand is fourth in the ASEAN Global Talent Competitiveness Index. Students here tend to be very focused on finding a role directly from graduating, with lots of proactive support from the universities. Starting salaries for young talent tend to be very competitive, but at more senior levels they become much more comparable with Western rates. Businesses look to develop strong relationships with the universities in order to attract those potential stars early. CULTURAL FACTORS The Thai working culture is friendly and cooperative, and the high level of education among workers is an attraction to foreign companies. There are some intricacies to navigate – negotiating the banking system remains quite labour-intensive, for example, and the use of English is not quite on a par with countries like Malaysia. SUPPORT AND INCENTIVES The Thai Government has in recent years introduced various laws and initiatives aimed at growing the digital economy and make it easier for tech companies to do business. There is a raft of incentives to encourage businesses from overseas to expand or set up in Thailand, especially in the tech space. Most of these come under the auspices of the Board of Investment, which is the key authority that international businesses coming here will interact with.
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES With the support of the Thai Government, the digital economy has embraced the creative industries too. Long known within southeast Asia as a hub for filmmaking, Thai cinema contributed c$.78billion to the national economy in 2018, and continues to grow. A number of foreign production companies have invested in Thai film, notably South Korea’s CJ Entertainment. Thailand also enjoys a reputation for high-quality animation work from a marketplace that offers a deep talent pool but also relatively low overheads. The industry was worth an estimated $132million in 2019. Thai studios are in high demand with the big international animation companies, and were behind the visual effects and animated imagery of global hits such as Frozen and Rango. Thailand is also the fastest-growing video game market in Southeast Asia, with an industry worth an estimated $75billion (2019) and a native market of over 18.3million self-declared gamers. Thai game developers such as MAD Virtual Reality Studio, LevelLoop and the Yggdrazi Group regularly feature in international gaming bestseller lists.
STARTING SALARIES FOR YOUNG TALENT TEND TO BE VERY COMPETITIVE , BUT AT MORE SENIOR LEVELS THEY BECOME MUCH MORE COMPARABLE WITH WESTERN RATES.
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