THAI IT SECTOR SLIPS IN COMPLETITIVENESS RANKINGS

       Thailand's IT industry slipped to 49th in the 2009 IT Industry Competitiveness Index from 42nd last year, due to declines in both its foreign-investment policy ranking and PC ownership ranking, which are heavily weighted indicators.
       Within Asia, Thailand ranked 11th, behind India, 44th in the world, and ahead of the Philippines, 51st, and Vietnam, 56th.
       In the study issued by the Economist Intelligence Unit on a BSA sponsorship, Thailand's foreign-investment policy ranking dipped to 35th, from 29th last year. Despite an improvement in personal computer ownership, its relative ranking declined five places, from 47th in 2008 to 52nd this year.
       Thailand's overall business environment was ranked 30th in the world, a slight drop from 28th last year. Thailand is ranked 29th in the world on support for IT development. The ranking for IT human capital moved up from 46th to 43rd, while the R&D environment ranking also rose from 59th to 58th.
       However, the ranking for legal environment dropped from 56th to 57th.
       Australia, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea are among the top 20 countries globally for having the most competitive IT industries, according to the study.
       "In today's economic climate, it is critical that governments in Asia-Pacific continue to support the growth of a strong technology sector. The IT sector remains an important engine of economic growth, and economies in the region that are supporting innovation and taking steps to stimulate technology sector output are placing themselves in a strong position to accelerate economic recovery," Carlo Parlade, BSA's director of software policy for Asia-Pacific, said yesterday.
       "The study shows that economies that have strong legal frameworks for the protection of intellectual property [IP] are generally the IT leaders and score higher in the index.
       "In contrast, economies where IP protection has not been well enforced are not traditionally seen as innovators. Some rely instead on their low-cost labour markets to remain competitive but this is hard to sustain over time.
       "By improving on the factors that contribute to IT competitiveness, Asian economies will not only improve their ranking but also generate long-term economic growth."

       "The study shows that economies that have strong legal frameworks for the protection of intellectual property [IP] are generally the IT leaders and score higher in the index."