Around 92% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) say they do not have a plan to invest in digital technology this year, while 5.9% do plan to invest, according to a survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).
The survey on trends of investment, international trade, technology changes, and digital economy dynamics in 2025 was conducted by a trio of UTCC organisations: the Digital Economy, Investment and International Trade Research Center (DEIIT), the Center for Economic and Business Forecasting, and the economics faculty.
Anusorn Tamajai, director of DEIIT, said the survey had 400 SME respondents in five sectors: agriculture, manufacturing, domestic trade, international trade, tourism and others.
According to the survey, only 1.8% of SMEs are investing in digital technology, with most of these in the tourism, international trade and manufacturing sectors.
Some 70% of respondents expect digital transformation to help improve efficiency and reduce costs, while 25.4% think it can expand markets and access to customers, while 4.6% predict improved products and service development.
In terms of the Thai economy, 58.4% of entrepreneurs surveyed expect it to worsen in 2025.
Entrepreneurs in agriculture, manufacturing, and domestic trade sectors mostly expect the Thai economy in 2025 to decline, while most businesses in the tourism sector expect the economy to improve.
The SMEs view economic growth, interest rates and political stability as the top three most significant factors that will impact their investment this year.
In terms of technology and innovation trends, respondents believe financial technology is most likely to affect their investment (32.5%), followed by online social media (28.4%), automation and robotics (24.4%), and artificial intelligence (14.8%).
The survey found 34.3% of respondents have no plan to invest in new technologies this year, but could do so in the future.
Some 31.5% said they have no plan to invest because it was not necessary to do so, while 30.2% indicated they are limited because of financial constraints.
Only 4.1% say they will invest in new technology this year, most of which are micro-businesses and medium-sized firms.
In terms of political and legal change, over half of the respondents said political changes will have a negative impact on their businesses.