E-commerce group aims to spur sector

The association also aims to promote fair competition in the fast-growing sector.
 Thanawat Malabuppha, the president of the association, said the organisation was aiming to become the hub for the e-commerce industry in Thailand. 
While announcing the new association’s committees yesterday, Thanawat said its three main tasks were to empower local e-commerce operators, to help them reach global markets, and to encourage fair competition between them and their overseas-based rivals in the Thai market.
For the first task, the association plans to set up the E-Commerce Knowledge Centre to train e-commerce operators, imparting updates on the latest trends and other information that can help them develop.
For the overseas ambitions, the association aims to work with giant e-commerce players in target markets, such as Tmall.com, Taobao.com and VIP.com in China, and in Vietnam.
For the fair competition goal, the association wants to see tax measures covering excises, value-added tax, income tax and customs duties. It aims to work with related associations and the government to push for these measures.
“We want to be a crucial part of the effort to drive e-commerce growth in the country, as we believe that e-commerce can help bridge the income gap between people in the cities and remote areas,” said Thanawat.
He said the transaction value in 2017 for e-commerce between businesses and consumers (B2C) and between consumers (C2C) was around Bt150 billion. Of this amount, 40 per cent came from transactions on social commerce platforms, 35 per cent from e-marketplaces, and 25 per cent from e-retail or branded websites.
The association aims to have 30,000 members by 2020, drawn from the total of about 300,000 e-commerce businesses in Thailand.
The Electronic Transactions Development Agency (Public Organisation) (ETDA) yesterday forecast that the overall value of e-commerce is expected to reach around Bt3 trillion this year.
ETDA chief executive officer Surangkana Wayuparb yesterday gave a separate forecast on the value of the e-commerce market in 2017. The agency estimates that it reached Bt2.8 trillion, for an increase of 8.63 per cent year on year.
Surangkana gave the forecast at an event, “Future Economy and Internet Governance: Big Change to Big Chance”, hosted by the ETDA at the Siam Paragon shopping complex. The three-day event kicked off on Monday.
The ETDA yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with Srinakharinwirot University to set up an e-commerce park on its campus. The park will be a training centre for the exchange of knowledge on e-commerce and provide know-how workshops for students, entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises.