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Published on February 7, 2008

This demonstrates the potential for exporting ICT goods and services amid rising competition. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) Information Economy Report 2007-2008 showed that increased competition would make investment vital in domestic labour skills, telecommunications and the improvement of investment climates.

Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi,  secretary-general of Unctad, said these were positive steps, but the digital divide had widened between developing and developed countries. 

Asean was held up as an example of the way countries around the world should work together to ensure consistency in cyber laws.

In a joint research project with the Thai National Statistical Office on the relation between productivity and Internet access, Unctad found a 10 per cent increase in the share of employees using computers resulted in a 3.5 per cent increase in labour productivity. In Thailand, 22.5 per cent of the population have access to the Net and only 14 per cent have access to broadband.

Lily Partland

The Nation