Association president Chachanat Thebtaranonth, speaking at the IASP's annual meeting that wound up earlier this week in Bangkok, said the main obstacle to R&D in Thailand was a shortage of human resources.

Chachanat said a research brain drain had been forced by university lecturing demands.

She added that research was conducted without market demands in mind. Consequently, manufacturers and others are less interested in R&D. "Thailand Science Park is a middleman between universities and companies for fine-tuning ideas and helping them work together," she said.

The science park is located in Pathum Thani and is managed by the National Science and Technology Development Agency and the Science and Technology Ministry. It opened in 2002 and is an integrated R&D centre for genetic engineering, biotechnology, metal and materials technology, electronics and computers and nanotechnology. The government spent US$175 million (Bt6.3 billion) on the centre.

Pierre Belanger, president of Biotech City in Canada, said another problem in developing countries was a lack of coordination between public agencies. They need management restructuring to cope in a fast-moving world, he said.

ISAP director-general Luis Sanz said Thailand needed to attract local and foreign investment in R&D rather than remaining labour-intensive.

Singapore is Southeast Asia's biggest spender on R&D, followed by Malaysia and Thailand. Sanz said Thailand was moving more slowly than China, which had spent heavily on science parks to help its economy to grow swiftly.

Chachanat said developed countries spent 2 per cent to 3 per cent of GDP on R&D, with 60 per cent of spending coming from the private sector. Thailand spends just 0.26 per cent of GDP, with more than 60 per cent from the government.

The Board of Investment is encouraging the private sector to initiate and conduct R&D.

Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul

The Nation