The GDP of Thailand's digital economy this year is expected to increase 7.3% year-on-year to reach 4.85 trillion baht, according to the Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry.
The digital economy's GDP growth rate is 2.6 times higher than the country's overall GDP growth rate, which is projected to reach 2.8% this year, generating 19.2 trillion baht.
Digital investment this year is expected to expand by 9.9%, or 2.7 times higher than the anticipated growth rate of total investment in the country.
DES Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong said the government is committed to improving the country's competitiveness, using the digital economy to expand the national economy, especially in attracting investment in cloud services, data centres and other digital technology.
Mr Prasert said the digital economy forecast calls for global economic growth of 3.3%, government investment in digital expanding by 5%, and private sector investment in digital increasing by 10.3%.
The forecast is based on foreign investment in digital businesses such as cloud, data centres and artificial intelligence (AI).
The estimate is also based on the government's cloud first policy, digital hub policy, acceleration of digital government initiatives, as well as private sector adoption of AI. In addition, Thais and foreign tourists are increasingly using digital payment systems.
The forecast considers political volatility and global trade, geopolitical conflicts and wars in various regions, limitations in supporting the country's investment in clean energy and personnel to support foreign investment, and competition in attracting digital investment in the region, according to the DES Ministry.
Wetang Phuangsup, secretary-general of the National Digital Economy and Society Commission, said the digital economy has expanded rapidly and is one of the sectors that has continuously supported the country's economy.
He said the anticipated increase in digital investment this year is attributed to government policies to attract investment, especially foreign direct investment in cloud services, data centres, technology used for manufacturing, electronic parts and other digital products.
The forecast calls for private digital consumption to expand by 7.6% this year, higher than the estimate for Thailand's overall consumption growth of 3.3%, as Thais enjoy purchasing items on digital platforms, said Mr Wetang.
Government digital consumption is projected to increase by 4.3% from the development of management systems and the provision of services via online platforms and channels.
Regarding the foreign trade sector, the value of exports of digital goods and services this year is expected to rise 5.5% from 2024 due to high demand for electrical appliances and electronic products, growth in the electric vehicle industry, adaptation of various sectors to digital services, awareness of AI technology development, and foreign tourists increasingly using online platforms to book hotel rooms, travel, and tourism services, he said.
