PM meets with Alibaba's Jack Ma to discuss SMEs

  

BANGKOK, 11 October 2016 (NNT) – The Prime Minister allowed Alibaba founder and CEO Jack Ma to meet with him after the businessman spoke at the 2nd Asia Coordination Dialogue (ACD) in Bangkok. 

The Alibaba top executive paid a visit to Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha after taking part in the 2nd ACD’s business forum. The premier lauded Ma for the suggestions he posed at the summit and voiced confidence Alibaba could serve a key role in supporting small and medium enterprises in and across Asia. 

Gen Prayuth especially noted Ma’s ideas on how SMEs can access capital, the creation of an electronic World Trade Platform and environmental approaches to E-commerce. He remarked that Alibaba’s know-how will surely prove useful to Thailand’s businesses. 

The prime minister let on to Ma that he is supportive having Thai SMEs enter the E-commerce realm through Alibaba, urging the company aid the Kingdom’s OTOP producers to enter the online market and utilize online payment systems. 

 

-- nnt 2016-10-11

"The Prime Minister allowed Alibaba founder and CEO Jack Ma to meet with him after the businessman spoke at the 2nd Asia Coordination Dialogue (ACD) in Bangkok. "

 

It is somewhat doubtful Ma kissed the ring of our jowly usurper of power.   Ma speaks to the most powerful people in the world.  The tin pot is not one of them.  

Guessing it was the other way around but applaud both for making it happen.  Jack Ma is quickly becoming a driving force behind globalization that includes elevating SME/SMBs. The premise from his chair is they've been excluded and pushed down for too long. He's a staunch advocate for giving them more incentive than their enterprise counterparts.  Won't be easy to level the playing field, especially here where markets are controlled via heavy-handed tactics and perversity of relationships (public/private sector).   But it's a start.

 

A very bright, forward thinking (and now quite wealthy) thought leader.   Hope the big guy established an open line for the future. 

Hopefully something can be done, to boost ecommerce in Thailand, since there is a actually a huge potential here.

 

Problem for many small companies is that they often hold very little know-how of how to get started and succeed online. Also a lot of startup companies here lack international outlook and mostly think mostly short-term, when it comes to investing in something new.

 

Furthermore (and this is a HUGE problem), is the unclear VAT laws related to ecommerce in and outside of Thailand. Ask 5 different accountants, lawyers and tax-officers... and you will get 5 different answers of what the law is regarding e-commerce. As an online shop owner you can therefore never know what might hit you, when the Revenue Department turns up one day. The interpretation of the law, varies even from person to person and district to district.

 

If they modify the tax-law to be very simple on ecommerce and be beneficially to online shop owners, I am sure many will start to think in that direction. 

Edited October 11, 20169 yr by khunpa

One smart man and one not so smart man . 

Jack Ma is willing to work with oppressive regimes. Can he see a future of freedom in Thailand? I wonder. He must feel happy supporting China's communist leadership and pushing their agenda as well.

It is an opportunity, but for who and how much?

I bet the issue of Alibaba selling cheap copies of copyrighted material as other brands was not raised.

Just ban Google, Ebay, Amazon and start your own companies....bet it will be a success.

 

But in Thailand even my paypal doesn't work because it is banned.