Digital content companies continue to grow in Thailand

The value of the Thai digital content industry is on track to reach Bt26.8 billion by the end of next year, said the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA), which is launching two projects to help more than 300 software and digital content companies contribute to this goal.

DEPA president Nuttapon Nimmanpatcharin said the agency had cooperated with IDC on a survey that found that the demand in the digital content industry in Thailand was continuing to grow. On the basis of the survey, the Bt26.8 billion figure was determined for the value of the digital content industry in 2018. This would represent growth of 11.37 per cent from that expected in 2017.

By sector, the 2018 estimate has the gaming market contributing 20.5 billion, followed by animation at Bt4.4 billion and the character market Bt1.97 billion. The value of digital content industry this year is seen coming in at Bt24.1 billion, with gaming accounting for Bt18.3 billion, followed by animation at Bt4 billion and the character market Bt1.8 billion. Last year, the industry was valued at B21.9 billion.

Nuttapon said the agency would support the growth in the digital content industry with two main projects. Its so-called Internationalisation fund will have a budget of Bt20 million to support around 100 software and digital content companies. The agency’s digital start-up programme will have a budget of Bt100 million to develop around 200 new ventures with assistance such as seed funding, the provision of co-creation space, matching funds and investment funds. The agency will also promote small and medium-sized enterprises, along with food and tourism businesses, to adopt information technology and innovation to aid their business.

“We are trying to support the digital content industry in the country so that we will able to create digital content companies able to develop their own IP, reduce the gap with imports of digital content from the international market, and create new opportunities for local digital content business to export their products to international markets, such as Taiwan, the US and China, while seeking to enable the creation of a sustainable business in the long term,” Nuttapon said.

(1 USD = 33.2 THB)