Thailand
Thailand: One-stop portal for startup aid under development
The cabinet yesterday approved 4 billion baht from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) budget to develop a “doing business” portal, envisioned as a one-stop solution for helping startups.
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.
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. 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 (public organization) will be assigned as the core agency developing the portal. The agency will shift from the Digital Economy and Society Ministry to be supervised by the Prime Minister’s Office.
The platform is also required to link to the Prime Minister Operation Center (PMOC).
Once the government installs the portal, Mr Kobsak expects a better ranking for Thailand in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index.
The government has touted progress on that front, from new business registration processes to amended bankruptcy regulations.
Tossaporn Sirisamphan, secretary-general of the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission, said earlier that the office expected Thailand’s ranking in the index to rise at least seven spots (to 39th) this year.
Thailand’s ranking in the index, which surveyed 190 countries, climbed to 46th last year from 49th in 2015. Thailand ranked ninth in Asia, trailing Singapore and Malaysia in Asean.
The World Bank officials had collected information and updated Thailand’s level of progress in May, with the report scheduled to be announced this month.
According to Mr Tossaporn, the World Bank unofficially reported that Thailand has made good progress in four key areas: starting businesses, registering assets, the system for taking care of minor shareholders and better practices in handling bankruptcies.
But the global lender suggested improvements could be made to integrate the portals developed by various ministries to help startups, as applicants still faced unnecessary red tape.
The World Bank also said Thailand should develop a one-stop portal to facilitate business startups in the same vein as Singapore’s LicenceOne — a business-licensing portal aimed at delivering a more user-friendly and efficient licensing experience to businesses.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1340315/one-stop-portal-for-startup-aid-under-development