Bangkok--16 Aug--SCG
In commemorating its 100th anniversary, SCG holds the national “Thailand Innovation Forum” where it pools the country’s champion resources in science and technologies from all areas such asthe government and educational institutions all the ways to private sector and independent researchers - to erect a practical groundwork for the country to edge up its ability to compete in the realms of commercial innovations with a sustainable development model leading Thailand towards becoming the leader of commercial innovations in ASEAN.
Prime Minister of Thailand, H.E. Ms. YingluckShinawatra, presiding over theThailand Innovation Forum:R&D to Commercialization says that R&D, especially in science and high technologies, is the key to Thailand’s economic and social strength. The government has always been on top of the topic by following up the problems and obstacles, as well as by providing the seed money into the government R&D projects to materialize the country’s development plans and beef up the personnel forte while encouraging the local and international industrial R&D networks. Today forum held by SCG showcases a corporate effort as a major part to foster the country’s R&D and sustainable competitive edge which would benefit everyone involved in work of supporting operations and policy establishments.
Mr. KanTrakulhoon, President and CEO, SCGsays that this national commercial R&D forum premieres the private sector’s strong intention to practically support commercial research and developmentas well as to encourage and inspire local enterprises to venture more into the realm of commercial R&D.“Throughout the past 100 years, SCG has always been conducting our businesses based on sustainable development with strong focuses on innovations and high value-added products and services. R&D work has been utilizedas a key driving force to increase competitiveness of the country. We then consider it very important that every stake holders pay attention to cultivate new innovations in our country. For example, the government can make it a national agenda to promote R&D culture in the country while the educational and research institutions can adapt their existing projectsto meet the global community’s expectation in the future. The private sector, meanwhile, can encourage an R&D network where consumer demands meet with the scientific efforts, resulting in more value added innovations that generate actual income to further workin the future,” says Mr. Kan.
With a continuous effort to establish a true innovation-propelling growth, SCG increases its investment on R&D every year. In 2012 SCG spent Bt1.4 billion on R&D which is one fourth of its total R&D budget to collaborate with leading local and international R&D institutions. SCG has projected that its High Value Added (HVA) products should account for at least 50 percent of its total revenue from sales by the year 2015. And in the next 5 years, SCG expects to beef up its R&D team to 1,600 people with more than 170 PhD R&D candidates, and to spend more than 5.6 billion baht on R&D.
Mr. Kan adds that “Currently, Thailand’s total R&D investment stands at only 0.2 percent of the country’s GDP. There are 9.5 researchers per 10,000 populations, and only 20 percent of them work in the business sector. The government has established a plan to increase R&D investment to 2 percent of the country’s GDP, but we also need to employ those plans practically to create tangible results. I personally believe that the R&D budget should be boosted to at least 3 percent of the country’sGDP, while the numbers of researchers should be increased to 30 per 10,000 population, and 80 percent of those researchers are those in business sector. The R&D work should be commercialized, which means the finding from laboratory can be developed, produced, created, and transformed to products and services that serve real needs of consumer.”
On the national level, SCG’s CEO foresees that in the next 2-3 decades, the Thai industry will be moving more towards being creative, distinctive, high quality and branded with characters. Thailand should aim to become a Branded HVA Country with HVA products and services with outstanding differentiations. The country will also need to pay serious attention to the R&D of new innovations.
The Thailand Innovation Forum: R&D to Commercialization features world-class local and international speakers with real experience turning laboratory work into commercial successes. Mr. Douglas Muzyka - Senior Vice President and CTO, DUPONTwill portray his strategies bridging science and technology with marketing that resulted in Dupont being a real marketing-successful innovative company. Mr. Yong Sung Jeon, Managing Director, Thailand Samsung Electronicswill also share his experiences installing innovative DNA into every staff members who, together with the management, have successfully maneuvered the company towards the new economic era of the future. There will also be three world-renowned speakers joining the roundtable discussion where new ideas about innovations and commercialization are shared with practical lights on how to transform science from the educational field to business.
Thailand Innovation Forum: R&D to Commercialization has attracted attentions from everyone in the field — from high executives of local corporations to the government, educational institutions as well as R&D houses and private sector. Keen to new innovations and commercialization, these people — 800 of them — are joining us at this event. SCG hopes that this forum will be a starting point where everyone comes together and shares their ideas and practicalities so that everyone can move forward to making Thailand a leader in ASEAN and establish a good socio-economic and environmental balance in Thailand for a real sustainable growth into the future.