The Science and Technology Ministry plans to ask for cabinet approval to borrow US$300 million (9.67 billion baht) from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to promote science, technology and innovation, to support the government's much-touted Thailand 4.0 scheme.
Science and Technology Minister Suvit Maesincee said the ministry is consulting the National Economic and Social Development Board for the loan plan.
He said the Finance Ministry has suggested ADB provide experts to help design projects, give advice, evaluate projects and recommend foreign experts to facilitate the activities.
The ministry would use the loan mainly for projects to strengthen national competitiveness, said Mr Suvit.
They include improving the nation's science and technology infrastructure, such as the national biodata system, the Thailand Earth Observation System II, big data analytics, a synchrotron particle accelerator, fission and fusion technology, science and technology parks, precision agriculture, medical devices and automation.
The ministry also plans to team up with large listed companies on the SET 100 and SET 50 to drive innovation development among 5,000 small and medium-sized enterprises.
Mr Suvit said thanks to the government's promotion of R&D over the past three years, spending on R&D has reached 0.75% of the country's GDP last year, up from 0.62% in 2015.
R&D spending in 2017 was 102.5 billion baht.
The ministry expects Thailand's overall spending on R&D and innovation will reach 1% of GDP over the next 1-2 years.
For two decades, expenditure on R&D and innovation never exceeded 0.25% of GDP, until spending began to gradually increase over the past five years, the DE Ministry said.
The incumbent government is committed under the 20-year strategic plan to raising R&D expenditure to 2% of the country's GDP in 2036.
R&D spending in 2015 accounted for only 0.62% of GDP.
The plan calls for the private sector to provide 80% of R&D spending by 2036. It accounts for 70% now.
The government has allocated 17 billion baht to that end for fiscal 2018, up 15% from 2017.
To promote R&D spending in the private sector, the cabinet in May approved tax incentives for companies that group together in clusters to invest in R&D in five specified areas.
They will be eligible for 300% deductions on R&D expenses, up from 200%, if they invest more in food, agriculture and biotechnology; public health, healthcare and biomedical technology; robotics and smart devices; digital, Internet of Things and artificial intelligence; and creative economy, culture and lifestyle.
"The proportion of R&D spending by private companies rose to 75% in 2017. The rate is very good news for Thailand," he said.
Mr Suvit said the ministry is committed to applying innovation and technology to narrow income disparity, especially in the poorest 10 provinces, in partnership with 32 universities.
He said the ministry plans to ask for 3.4 billion baht in additional budget to be allocated from the central budget for fiscal 2018 to use in 14 projects such as a food fabrication pilot project in Chiang Mai, an expansion of dental scan R&D, and a national biobank.