Thailand plans to apply the Taobao Village model to help tackle poverty and raise community income via e-commerce and digital technology.
Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong discussed the concept with Jack Ma, chief executive of Alibaba, on Monday in Shanghai. He asked Mr Ma, the founder of one of the world's largest e-commerce groups, to help transfer knowledge about the success of the Taobao Village model to address poverty in Thai communities.
In 2009, clusters of rural online entrepreneurs who opened shops on Taobao Marketplace, referred to as Taobao Villages, began to emerge in China.
The first farming village to take up e-commerce on a large scale was Dongfeng Village in Shaji Town, Jiangsu province, where more than 1,000 households joined the digital economy by making furniture and selling finished goods online. Two other Taobao Villages emerged in Hebei province and Zhejiang province, respectively, in the same year. Since then, the number of Taobao Villages has been on the rise, and those villages have become a significant force behind the development of rural e-commerce in China.
Mr Sontirat said Thailand aims to expand cooperation in two areas with Alibaba: adding more agricultural items to sell on the flagship store in Tmall and cooperation with Hema, the cashless supermarket run by Alibaba that Thailand will supply with fresh farm products.
"At the beginning of December, I will lead a team from Thailand to learn from the successes of Alibaba in developing local entrepreneurs to earn better incomes and create improved livelihoods through e-commerce and digital technology," Mr Sontirat said.
Mr Sontirat did not mention the current existence of Taobao Thailand, an influential online site sponsored by Alibaba with a brick-and-mortar presence at Phra Pradaeng, Samut Prakan and a million followers on Facebook.
He said the team will include 15-20 representatives from the Business Development Department, the Internal Trade Department, the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry, the Community Development Department and Interior Ministry agencies that are involved in agricultural product development and rural trade management.
Sontirat Sontijirawong, Minister of Commerce: 'I will lead a team from Thailand to learn from the successes of Alibaba.' (Photo courtesy Ministry of Commerce)
In late 2016, the government clinched a letter of intent with Alibaba Group on cooperation, expansion and promotion of Thai small and medium-sized enterprises.
The letter of intent also calls for Alibaba's assistance in developing Thailand's digital human resources and logistics systems and invites the Chinese firm to invest in the Eastern Economic Corridor spanning Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao provinces.
The corridor has been designated for development as a high-tech industry cluster, with an eye towards becoming Asean's leading economic zone for industrial, infrastructure and urban development.
The letter of intent also calls for Alibaba's cooperation in developing Thailand as Southeast Asia's digital and data centre hub.
Mr Sontirat said the government aims to expand farm product promotion on a continuous basis with Alibaba and has asked the Chinese e-commerce giant to provide details of types, qualities and volumes of farm products demanded so that Thailand can plan production and sourcing in advance.