The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), Ministry of Science and Technology through National Science Technology and Innovation Policy Office (NSTIPO), and Thailand Management Association (TMA) have announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote small and mid-sized listed companies engaged in food industry to adopt innovations in business operations to sharpen their competitive advantage in global markets.
SET Senior Executive Vice President Krisada Sektrakul said that food industry plays a vital role in helping improve quality of life, and well-being of people all over the world. There are over 60 listed companies in SET’s Agro & Food Industry Group with a combined market capitalization of THB 980 billion (approx. USD 30 billion), accounting for about 6 percent of the total market value. This sector continues to prosper as seen from their revenues and profit growth averaged 6-7 percent over the past three years. The collaboration will inspire small and medium-sized SET and mai-listed companies engaged in food industry to realize and use innovation in driving businesses. In addition, this will also upgrade the Thai food industry for further growth and turn Thailand into a strong and sustainable well-being economy in the long run.
Minister of Science and Technology Suvit Maesincee commented that it is crucial for food industry in the Thailand 4.0 era to sharpen competitive capabilities and keep up with the industry’s changes covering different consumer needs, food safety, state-of-the-art technologies and innovations by adopting science and technologies to develop and create food products and services that meet consumer demands. A survey in various industrial sectors in 2017 found that food industry spent more than any other industries at THB 15.05 billion for investment in packaging, recipe and nutritional value developments to keep pace with the changing consumption behavior and needs. However, large companies made up the biggest share of the investment, while over 90 percent of food operators are small and medium-scale companies. Today’s cooperation will speed up food and related business operators listed on SET and mai and other operators, as the key players in the Thai food industry’s supply chain, to use science and technologies in business operations for more momentum and sustainable growth.
TMA Chairman Teeranun Srihong added that TMA has focused on lifting competitiveness in many aspects, particularly in technology, innovation and digital management via various activities, to improve competence of workforces, organizations and the country in line with the industry 4.0 era. After the inception of Thailand Competitiveness Enhancement project in 2009, our emphasis has been on the food and agricultural sectors’ management and innovation developments. We always work closely with Food Innopolis under NSTIPO by exploring knowledge sources and connecting with the world’s important food clusters to push Thailand to progress towards Food Innovation Hub in the region.
This collaboration and coordination have been geared towards developing knowledge and skills related to food industry such as new technology for processing, research and development, law and intellectual property, among others. The participating listed companies will gain advice and access to the public sector’s services to create greater business value in the future.