Thai workers’ household debt averaged Bt91,064 per household in 2010 and jumped 6 per cent per year to Bt158,856 per household in 2019, according to a University of Thai Chamber of Commerce survey.

Around 95 per cent of workers surveyed had household debts of Bt158,856 per month. Of the total, about 58 per cent were borrowed from the formal sector and the balance from the informal sector, the survey said. Most of the borrowings were meant for daily expenses, vehicles and medical expenses.

The university’s Centre for Economic and Business Forecasting conducted the survey on workers who earned less than Bt15,000 per month.

Thanavath Phonvichai, director of the centre, said that everything in the economy will be reflected in the labour market. If the labour market sees a gloomy economy, it means measures or the economic situation are not sufficiently efficient.

A higher debt burden has led to higher defaults, at 80.3 per cent in the past one year, up from 69.9 per cent in 2010, indicating the country’s economy has not been in good shape, he said.

About 29.6 per cent of the workers surveyed see the economy as “very bad”, while 57.7 per cent were concerned.

According to the surveyed workers, the first priority of the government should be to control the cost of living or increase the daily minimum wage.

Thanavath said the workers understood the difficulties of business operators, so they wanted a solution to the cost of living issue instead of wage rises.

The workers were also afraid of changing their jobs, as 48 per cent found it difficult to get alternative jobs.

Meanwhile, Thanavath said uncertainty in the formation of the new government after the election could hurt the Thai economy, particularly in drawing foreign investment.

If Thailand does not get a new government soon, its economic growth may slide to 3.5 per cent in the latter half of this year, down from the centre’s estimate of 4 per cent. This could directly affect low-income workers, as they may be able to work fewer hours or there could be layoffs if economic activities decline. This will again increase their debt burden.

“It depends on how soon the [new] government will be formed. The economy may grow 3.5 to 3.6 per cent. We believe the formal debt system is mature. They [workers] may go for more informal borrowings,” Thanavath said.

He urged the speeding up of government spending to stimulate economic activities and not let the economy worsen during the political vacuum.

Measures to depreciate the baht in order to push exports and promote local tourism could help the economy, he said, emphasising that these measures would bring overall benefits, not only for low-income earners.

The revision is in line with Thailand’s economic situation, which has been slowing down in the first to second quarter of this year.

The ministry will, however, propose its economic-stimulus package to the Cabinet today.

Lawan Sangsanit, director of Fiscal Policy Office, said that the country has also witnessed a decline in exports due to the economic slowdown of its trading partners as well as a trade war between China and the US. The Finance Ministry also revised this year’s export growth down from 4.5 per cent to 3.4 per cent.

“The economic figures released for March and the first quarter of this year reflect the local investments, which are actually slowing down. Both in the government and private sector, disbursement of the investment budget and import of machinery have respectively increased slightly over the period. Even with higher private consumption, such risk factors may have an impact on the slowdown of the Thai economy.”

Lawan said that the measure would require a more than Bt10 billion investment budget. However, it depends on the decision of the Cabinet whether to launch new measures which would help increase economic growth by 0.1 per cent by the end of this year.

“However, we expect that the Thai economy will grow better in the second half than in the first half. The GDP growth set for the second half of this year is at between 4.5 per cent and 4.6 per cent after the country has its new government, and the existing economic policies and stimulus measures have been continued,” he said.

Organisers are working with the Thai Animation & Computer Graphics Association (TAGCA), to deliver a showcase that “not only highlights local animation showcases, but also features many activities that promote creative ideas among Thai kids and youths,” Nop Dharmavanich, TAGCA president, said. “It will build immunity to those kids and youths to know and be able to use IT media for their own and social benefit.”

He said TCS 2019 offers activities related to Thailand’s entertainment and digital content industries and hopes to bring international recognition. The event also offers a stage for individual entrepreneurs and artists within the applied arts to showcase their work, as well as animation knowledge and characters.

“There are activities being held at the event to promote creative ideas from a new generation of kids and youths. It will open creative space for them and their families to get a chance to learn and participate together in activities. Major activities include an exhibition on the history of animation and characters in Thailand, and an operational workshop training session for character design, the so-called sixth ‘Character Licensing Workshop’. Along with other informative seminars, it will enhance the knowledge of workers in the digital-content industry, as well as the general public,” said Nop.

The workshop will be jointly held by the Ministry of Culture and TAGCA on May 2-3 at the Arnoma Grand Hotel Bangkok. It will choose three qualified teams to represent Thailand at the Hong Kong International Licensing Show.

According to a survey of Thailand’s digital content industry conducted by Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA), the total market value for local animation, online games and character industries together reached Bt25.04 billion in 2017 – Bt3.79 billion for animation, Bt19.28 billion for online games and Bt1.96 billion for the character industry. Online games and the character industry particularly enjoyed a strong growth of 18 per cent and 16 per cent respectively compared to the previous year.

Driven by positive factors, including higher market demand, the total value for the digital content market in Thailand is projected to grow steadily, having reached above Bt28 billion last year and expected to be nearly Bt31 billion this year.

TCS 2019 will be held May 2-5, this year on the third floor of CentralWorld shopping complex, along with the seventh Thailand Toy Expo 2019.

“Thailand Pavilion represents Thailand’s mobility of the future,” said Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin, president and CEO of the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA) and deputy commissioner general. “This also relates to our national agenda, Thailand 4.0, by integrating advanced technology to drive the country forward in all aspects. This exhibition aims to promote a positive image and showcase Thailand’s potential in digital technology for worldwide recognition.”

The ceremony was headed by Ajarin Pattanapanchai, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES), in his capacity as the commissioner general of the Thailand Pavilion. He referenced the Dubai Expo theme of “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”.

“Dubai aims to inspire the next generation and join hands with others to improve the world, as well as to develop the connection between the people and organisations to be able to respond to the world and promote innovation under three sub-themes – opportunity, mobility and sustainability,” said Ajarin.

Nuttapon noted that construction of the Thailand Pavilion was on schedule and meets international standards as well as UAE regulations for both the conceptual idea and the design. Thailand was one of the first five countries to begin work on its pavilion.

“Thailand Pavilion is located in the Mobility zone, on a plot of 3,606 square metres, which is the biggest site that Thailand has ever had since our country first participated in a World Expo over 150 years ago. The pavilion will represent the country with the ‘Mobility for the Future ’ theme, to showcase Thailand’s digital capabilities, to draw international investors to Thailand through the concept of ‘Digital for Development’,” said Nuttapon.

“This will be a good opportunity for the country for national branding, to show to the world Thailand’s new perspective, apart from the country being well-known for her abundant natural resources and graceful culture, known as the Land of Smiles. Thailand is transforming to become a hub of digital development to connect everyone in Southeast Asia.”

The project also aims to reduce disparity, provide opportunity and propel the country onto the international stage, he said. It also links to the sub-theme of mobility, with an emphasis on the smarter and more productive movement that connects people, organisations and countries. This will create a better future.

The goal of Thailand Pavilion is to attract 7 per cent of the 25 million visitors to the Expo, or around 1,750,000 visitors.

The groundbreaking ceremony was witnessed by guests of honour Waravuth Pouapinya, Ambassador of the Royal Thai Embassy, Abu Dhabi, UAE along with the chief executives from various government sectors stationed in the UAE. Construction and decoration of the pavilion are expected to be completed and ready to operate by September 2020.

World Expo is one of the largest recurring events in the world, ranked third after the Olympic games and the FIFA World Cup.

An Expo is hosted every five years. World Expo Dubai will be held from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.

Discussions covered online business models used for the infringement of IP rights, investigative techniques and intelligence gathering, as well as measures to combat infringement, particularly in the online environment.

The trade in counterfeit products diverts revenue from legitimate businesses, depletes innovation and development and underpins organised crime networks. In addition, counterfeits are generally of lower quality and are potentially harmful to consumers. A wide range of products are involved, including footwear, clothing, electrical machinery, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and toys.

A report released this year by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimated that counterfeit and pirated goods represented up to 3.3 per cent of world trade in 2016, or as much as 460 billion euros (Bt16.38 trillion). This share has grown significantly from the 2.5 per cent estimated in 2013.

IP enforcement expert Erling Vestergaard, from the European Observatory on Infringements of IP Rights, outlined to the meeting a number of EU initiatives that address the issue. “Strong IP enforcement legislation in the EU provides police and customs agencies with the powers they need to successfully intercept counterfeit goods,” he said.

The enforcement workshop is one of a series of activities to mark World Intellectual Property Day 2019, being conducted by the five-year, EU-funded ARISE+ IPR programme. Taking place back-to-back with the workshop, ARISE+ IPR will also host the 4th meeting of the Asean Network of IPR Enforcement Experts (ANIEE) in Manila on April 25-26, as well as supporting ANIEE members’ participation in World Intellectual Property Day activities with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.

ANIEE consists of representatives from the Asean member states involved in IPR enforcement and is tasked by the Asean Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) to undertake the implementation of the IPR enforcement initiatives under the Asean IPR Action Plan 2016-2025.

World Intellectual Property Day is held annually on April 26 to highlight the importance of IP in encouraging innovation and creativity. The global theme for 2019 is IP and Sports.