It’s been two years since the Thai military government took over. During this time economic growth has been tepid. The World Bank forecasts that Thailand’s economic growth is set to grow 2.5 percent this year, compared to 2.8 percent in 2015. But for security, it’s quite a different story. “We believed Thailand’s se
It's been two years since the Thai military government took over. During this time economic growth has been tepid. The World Bank forecasts that Thailand's economic growth is set to grow 2.5 percent this year, compared to 2.8 percent in 2015.
But for security, it's quite a different story. “We believed Thailand's security market will perform better in 2016 than 2015 as we are already seeing stronger growth in the first five months,” said Ong Kah Seong, GM for Thailand at Bosch Security Systems.
One reason for Ong's optimism is increased government spending. With consumption and exports all at a low, it's up to the government to increase its budget to give the economy a boost. And the Thai government has done so by developing or expanding the country's infrastructure projects, which bring forth security needs.
“There were some project delays in 2015, but we have seen projects rolling out in 2016, especially in Infrastructure and transport verticals, particularly in various subways lines in Bangkok and cross-country rail projects,” he said.
Private investments have also grown, due to the perception that Thailand is now more stable to invest. “What we have seen in the last two years was increased stability, and this has helped to generate more confidence and investments in private sectors. This is positive for all business as well as for security market developments with more commercial projects and investments,” Ong said, adding that Thailand's strategic position in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) also helps.
“Thailand has a superior geographical advantage in AEC, and we see more corporate setting up headquarters in Thailand to grow in AEC markets,” he noted.
According to Ong, there has been increased interest in mixed commercial developments like Icon-Siam, and continued investment in city surveillance to make Thailand a safer place is also expected. Public safety has gained importance especially after last year's bombing inside the Erawan Shrine, a popular tourist attraction in the heart of Bangkok, in which 20 were killed.
In Ong's words, nowadays merely installing security cameras isn't enough. Intelligence and analytics are needed for early detection of threats and quick response to an incident. “There are already many surveillance cameras installed throughout Bangkok. The bombing has brought about the awareness of (1) quality of recorded images to enable identification and (2) ability to screen through recorded videos speedily to identify evidence and for follow-up actions,” he said. “For the latter, we see new interests in using video analytics and forensic search capability of surveillance system to monitor and manage a large scale city surveillance system.”