Thailand's ECIT programme to continue until 2015

BANGKOK, September 1 (TNA) - After recognising the success of Thailand's Enhancing SMEs Competitiveness Through IT (ECIT) programme over almost the past four years, the Ministry of Industry’s Industrial Promotion Department announced today that it has decided to continue the programme until 2015 when the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is formed. The department's director-general, Pasu Loharjun, said that investment on the programme for 2013, or its fifth year, has been set at about 35 million baht, and that 400 Thai small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are expected to join the programme to utilize the information technology (IT) in their business operations. Pasu revealed that some 1,500 IT personnel will also be well-trained and about 200 local businesses will be encouraged to use the green IT applications, aimed at reducing their operational costs. According to the senior official, the Industrial Promotion Department has already promoted some 1,000 local enterprises to employ the use of e-Marketplace networks in their trading to build the country's e-Supply Chain system, paving the way for the Single Economic Community of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) over the next three years, aimed to boost Thailand's industrial added-value of not less than 3.5 per cent of the country's total investment costs. The senior official acknowledged that in 2012, 150 local SMEs have started using the IT and software systems, which have helped them increasing value added not less than 220 million baht.(TNA)