Somkiat said the distribution of government big data could be used to create new businesses as had happened in the United States.

He said more information on government procurement data being made available for public would also lead to less corruption due to public scrutiny.

As the government was trying to promote its Thailand 4.0 policy, driven by information technology, providing the public to government big data was necessary to achieve the goal.

He also bemoaned the fact the Commerce Ministry charges fees for people who want to access private company information held by the Business Development Department.

Somkiat spoke at a TDRI annual academic conference on Monday.