Startup Portal to improve the Kingdom’s Competiveness
The one-stop startup portal dubbed ‘Biz Portal’ sets out to improve Thailand’s Global Competitiveness Index. Secretary-general of the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission Tossaporn Sirisamphan, revealed earlier that the office expected Thailand to climb at least seven spots (to 39th) in the competitive index this year. The index surveys 190 countries and Thailand rose from 49th in 2015 to 46th last year. Thailand ranked ninth in Asia, well behind Singapore and Malaysia in ASEAN.
World Bank Recognizing Improvements in Thailand
World Bank officials had gathered data and revised Thailand’s level of progress in May, with the report due to be publicized this month. Mr Tossaporn elaborated that the World Bank disclosed that Thailand has made solid progress in four key areas: starting businesses, registering assets, the framework for dealing with minor shareholders and better practices in administering bankruptcies.
But the global lenders’ officials suggested improvements by integrating online portals developed by various ministries to help local start-ups, as entrepreneurs still faced time consuming red tape.
The World Bank also implied Thai authorities should develop a one-stop portal to facilitate business start-ups using Singapore’s LicenceOne as a role model. LicenceOne is Singapore’s business licensing portal aimed at delivering an efficient and user-friendly business licensing experience to entrepreneurs.
Start-up Portal Aiding Ease of Doing Business
The cabinet yesterday approved 4 billion THB from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) budget to develop a ‘start-up-your-business’ portal, conceptualized as a one-stop solution for helping Thai entrepreneurs.
According to Kobsak Phutrakul, assistant minister to the Prime Minister’s Office, the portal is a business licensing platform that will deliver a more user-friendly and efficient licensing experience online. The portal will simplify the application and payment process for licence-related fees and let businesses apply for multiple licences at once. Other features include the updating, renewal and termination of licences.
The portal will offer services at https:// biz.govchannel.go.th, progress can already been viewed online. The website is in Thai language only. The first phase is to include 21 types of licences in 2018, expanding to cover 50 services in the second phase in 2019 and 300 in 2020.
The Electronic Government Agency will be responsible for developing the portal. Mr Kobsak expects a better ranking for Thailand in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business along with the overall Competitiveness Index once the government fully launches the portal.
