EDITORIAL

Why Zuckerberg needs to come here

By The Nation

 

Thailand is uniquely poised to become this region’s e-commerce nexus, and Chinese online giants are on their way

Thailand has attracted growing international interest as a regional hub for digital businesses due to its advantageous geographical location at the centre of mainland Southeast Asia, its large domestic and mobile-smart population, and its improved political stability. In addition, the country has quickly laid down a competitive infrastructure for the digital economy and society, 

 

especially in terms of an efficient 4G mobile network and ongoing plans to install Internet access points in all rural villages to avoid a digital divide.

 

All of these factors have encouraged e-commerce, social media and other digital-business giants around the world to explore opportunities here in connection with potential leverages which could be extended to cover the neighbouring CLMV market – Cambodia, Laos Myanmar and Vietnam.

 

Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant, is a case in point. It plans to open a regional centre in Malaysia that’s positioned to cover Indonesia, the Philippines and Brunei, while Thailand is being eyed as the hub for the CLMV market. In this context, Thailand has a competitive logistical infrastructure for the transportation of goods that need to be delivered across borders in a relatively short time in this digital age.

 

Besides Alibaba, JD.com, another Chinese e-commerce juggernaut, is poised to take on the Thai market in partnership with the Central Department Store group, which is moving into the online marketplace quickly to meet consumer expectations in the Internet era.

 

JD.com intends to turn Thailand into its regional e-commerce hub in Southeast Asia, with plans to set 

up big data and cloud-computing facilities here while using commercial drones as part of its logistic operations.

Both Jack Ma, the Alibaba founder, and Richard Liu, the JD.com founder, are due to visit Thailand next month to advance their business and investment plans here. The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), which covers Rayong, Chon Buri and Chachoengsao provinces, is their shared target area. In addition to these two Asian giants, Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook co-founder and its major shareholder, was supposed to be coming for a visit on October 30. Though the social network has since denied this report, a visit makes sense, since Facebook is hugely popular in Thailand, one of its biggest markets in the world. 

 

As Facebook gears up to expand in social media and related businesses, Thailand figures prominently on its strategy map due to the huge population of Facebook users who are moving into the era of social commerce.

 

Facebook is also expanding into the virtual reality (VR) market, with one of its first VR devices about to debut in many countries around the world, including Thailand. Hence, Zuckerberg sees a strong market potential in Thailand as a hub for further expansion into other regional markets. While the Thai government may be serious about national security issues with regard to the use of its social media platform, the US digital business giant is probably more optimistic on the business front.

 

At this stage it remains unclear whether Zuckerberg’s October 30 visit has been cancelled or put off to another date, but in the end, the social-media mogul is likely to come here to further his platform’s business interests in a vibrant, mobile-smart market like Thailand.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/opinion/30329715

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-10-20

Yes, Mr Social Media. Come here to this fantastic ‘nexus’. A land where you can spend 0 days in jail for murder and huge fraud, etc, but can be imprisoned for years for online comments. 

 

And if that doesn’t wet your whistle, the PM would save a huge amount of face if you’d help him out with his little fib. 

How can they be a hub for regional business when hardly any Thai website, including official ones, works properly?

4 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

How can they be a hub for regional business when hardly any Thai website, including official ones, works properly?

Be patient, the upgrade to "Vista" is coming...

47 minutes ago, webfact said:

While the Thai government may be serious about national security issues with regard to the use of its social media platform

 

This is the most telling sentence in the article.

 

If Thailand wants to be the 'hub' of Internet commerce (and it wants to be the hub of EVERYTHING), then it is time for the boys in green to get out of the way. Who would trust Thai laws and their enforcement on the Net for their business?

 

Thailand, if you want to be an Internet hub, you need to make a few changes...

 

Any meeting will likely be to discuss Thai requirements for censorship of content and procedures for disclosing identities of offenders. Zuckerberg would be smart to stay away.

JAG

I had to give you a  because one of my PC's is still running Vista, and I find it just as good as the Win10 on my other PC. If I was doing more graphics instead of financials I might think differently.

ps: I like the card games on Vista

Edited October 20, 20178 yr by DoctorG
quote fell off post

1 hour ago, Orton Rd said:

How can they be a hub for regional business when hardly any Thai website, including official ones, works properly?

more thai show

Why Zuckerberg needs to come here

 

Because some need a selfie with him to look self important.

No company in the known universe will set-up any internet infrastructure in a country that blocks, censors and controls internet access.

Facebook wouldn't leave a laptop here as infrastructure. The government has blocked it several times during coups etc.

E-commerce hub, all good unless you want to use the E-commerce platform to buy a subscription to the daily mail, or an adult video.

10 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

JAG

I had to give you a  because one of my PC's is still running Vista, and I find it just as good as the Win10 on my other PC. If I was doing more graphics instead of financials I might think differently.

ps: I like the card games on Vista

You are probably way ahead of all the Thai ATMs that still run windows XP.

13 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

No company in the known universe will set-up any internet infrastructure in a country that blocks, censors and controls internet access.

Facebook wouldn't leave a laptop here as infrastructure. The government has blocked it several times during coups etc.

E-commerce hub, all good unless you want to use the E-commerce platform to buy a subscription to the daily mail, or an adult video.

 

FYI, the dailymail is no longer blocked in Thailand.  I noticed this about a month ago.

 

As to why Zucker would come here ... money of course.  As to why the Thai govt might be interested in him,

perhaps they can get Zucker to do some of their censorship work for them.

Edited October 20, 20178 yr by expat_4_life

He,s coming for a day or two lazing on the beach at Hua Hin :)

wow the single gateway is going to be busy if all this cool stuff happens.

 

and lets hope the servers are not in the basement or on the first floor.

 

oh and the power needs to stay on all the time.

 

 

8 minutes ago, phantomfiddler said:

He,s coming for a day or two lazing on the beach at Hua Hin :)

yes he heard about all the dead fish and the horrible smell we have here.

 

I would leave my private island in the Caribbean just to experience it. 

2 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

How can they be a hub for regional business when hardly any Thai website, including official ones, works properly?

Other than the geographic location, Thailand has little to offer in the way of programming and technical support.  Vietnam is light years ahead in that aspect.  You have very competent computer people that speak and read English.  Thailand businesses are over reliant on facebook.   Using it instead of a traditional website.  Zuck should come to Thailand just to say thank you. 

Edited October 20, 20178 yr by yellowboat

Listen to his speeches and you know what this young successful man is passionate about. He is for democracy, freedom and less inequality. He will come when Thailand has an elected government. 

Was this "article" in the advertorial section, and if so, who paid for it?

1 hour ago, Peterw42 said:

You are probably way ahead of all the Thai ATMs that still run windows XP.

 The majority of atm's all over the world still runs Windows xp as of today

His addictive business (Facebook... especially for the younger generation) will still continue to grow, wether he comes or not, so why should he bother?

 

any improvements / enhancements will be lapped up by users, regardless

 

lol... didn’t gates get slammed for coming here and commenting on the infrastructure?

 

i think, as a smart man, he should stay as far away as possible ???

Facebook doesn't need to send it's CEO to Thailand to make something happen. They have employees for that. Shocker. Him coming is more of a statement than anything else, as is the denial of his trip.

5 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

How can they be a hub for regional business when hardly any Thai website, including official ones, works properly?

 

Indeed. I have problems with a gas hob and looked up the firm's website to see if they had any service agents. The website had several areas that were just gobbledigook lettering, including on their home page, and Thai-style English saying they were interested in international markets. Clearly the company doesn't even look at their own website to check how it looks. I sent them an email asking about agents, and of course received no reply.

Zuckerberg has seen enough one eyed banjo players in his own country....why come here to meet one eyed generals?!

14 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

How can they be a hub for regional business when hardly any Thai website, including official ones, works properly?

Sad  but  true.

14 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

How can they be a hub for regional business when hardly any Thai website, including official ones, works properly?

Very very true, even TAT's world website has over 157 errors on page 1 this very minuted did a check on it.

 

A few weeks back we talked on TV about eCommerce to which many said Facebook was the way forward and we do not need websites.

 

There are very few here who know how to build or create a real website and the Ministry is one of them as look at that website and a 10 year old could do better.

 

The Chinese are coming as they need to sell more to the country and will with not much competition. mind you the scam mail from there will blow your mind.

 

Facebook is here and at the top of the tree so why bother visiting and having to suffer more bull.

 

That gateway will suppress eCommerce if it is allowed to come into place.

 

But even now thousands of IP's are blocked so until freedom arrives forget eCommerce.

12 hours ago, phantomfiddler said:

He,s coming for a day or two lazing on the beach at Hua Hin :)

Tell him to leave his ecigs and cigs at home and bring a mask to stop the smells of dead fish if he is off to HH

 

Facebook is not eCommerce except here, says it all.

Recently cannot even get Major Cineplex site to function properly or the app. Thai airways site became a never updated joke and the info on some immigration sites is years out of date.