Launch of UNCTAD’s Information Economy Report in Bangkok by ESCAP’s ICT and Development Section

As has been the case in previous years, ESCAP launched the latest edition of UNCTAD’s Information Economy Report on 28 November 2012.

The 2012 edition of the IER, titled the Software Industry and Developing Countries emphasizes that ICT trends are creating better opportunities for developing countries to develop indigenous software capabilities. The Report makes a strong case for the social and economic benefits to be gained from leveraging software skills in the domestic market – in the private and public sectors. Today, as much as four fifths of the world’s expenditure on computer software and services is accounted for by the developed countries. East, South and South-East Asia is responsible for another 16 per cent, or $192 billion. But even in the Asian region, the share of ICT spending devoted to computer software and services is relatively low. In most countries that have successfully nurtured domestic software capabilities, government involvement was instrumental, especially at the early stage of the sector’s development.

UNCTAD’s Information Economy Report urges Governments to take an active role in fostering software capabilities, working in close partnership with the private sector, universities and the software developer community. Specific strategies for the software sector are currently being put in place in many Asian developing countries, including Bangladesh, China, India, and Sri Lanka. The emphasis on such strategies needs to be adapted to each country.

The report was presented by Tiziana Bonapace, Chief of the ICT and Development Section. She discussed the conclusions of the report and their relevance to the Thai context with two high level experts on the issue, Khun Suphachai Sachaphibulkij, Secretary General, ATCI (Association of Thai ICT Industry) and Khun Chatchai Khunpitiluck, Vice President, Software Industry Promotion Agency (Public Organization). The launching event took place at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT) in Bangkok. Copies of the report can be obtained at: http://unctad.org/en/Pages/MeetingDetails.aspx?meetingid=110