Digital industry index slips in Q3

The Digital Industry Sentiment Index dropped to 52.0 in this year’s third quarter from 52.4 in the previous quarter, attributed to a decline in private consumption, high interest rates, and severe floods in central and northern regions dampening consumer confidence.
The index level was deemed confident because it is above the threshold of 50 points.
According to the index overseen by the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (Depa), several dimensions, such as turnover, production volume, production orders, new employment, and business investment, had decreased, while business costs increased from the previous quarter.
These aspects were mainly attributed to a drop in private consumption, high interest rates, and severe floods in the central and northern regions dampening consumer confidence. At the same time, the number of inbound tourists continues to expand, and political stability has returned after a brief vacuum.
Thai digital entrepreneurs anticipated that the government would facilitate financial resource access, promote the competitiveness of local digital products and services in the global market, support the entrepreneurs in government procurement, and address tax avoidance among foreign firms.
The survey reached out to 400 digital business operators in five sectors, including hardware and smart devices, software, digital services, digital content and telecom.
Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin, president and chief executive of Depa, said the return of political stability has restored confidence in firms and investors, while the steady growth of the tourism sector alleviated the country’s economic situation, leading to just a slight decrease in the index.
The survey revealed three industries had index values higher than 50: hardware and smart devices at 52.2, software at 52.6 and digital services at 54.1. Two industries had index values below 50: digital content at 47.7 and telecommunications at 49.5.
“Thai digital entrepreneurs hope the government will adjust its strategies for promoting the digital industry by improving access to financial loans, promoting domestic digital products and services, and enhancing Thai firms to compete globally,” Mr Nuttapon added.
He said the Digital Economy and Society Ministry and Depa recently jointly announced a major initiative to strengthen the gaming industry in Thailand, aiming to drive investment and draw digital talent to the local digital content industry.
According to the survey, the index is expected to rebound to 52.6 in the fourth quarter as businesses are hopeful that the increased political stability will lead to the smoother implementation of economic measures in the last three months of the year.