Microsoft Sees Big Growth in Thailand

By REUTERS

BANGKOK, Feb 25 -- Microsoft Corp expects the tiny Thai software market to grow rapidly in the next few years, buoyed by the Internet and new products such as its Windows 2000 operating system, the head of its Thai subsidiary said on Friday.

Peerapong Oeusoonthornwattana, managing director of Microsoft (Thailand) Ltd, told Reuters Microsoft already had about 90 percent of the legal Thai desktop and notebook personal computer (PC) software market and about half the server software market.

But Thai demand was rising rapidly and around 84 percent of existing software in Thailand was pirated, offering huge scope for growth as copyright laws were enforced.

"PC growth is about 12 percent to 15 percent. For Microsoft, we have grown about 30 percent so far. If you look at our first half results for July to December (1999) we grew about 46 percent in Thailand, first half to first half," he said in an interview.

Asked whether Microsoft could expect to maintain annual growth of 30 percent in the years to come, Peerapong replied:

"Yes, even more than 30 percent. We do three years planning and there is a bright future for Thailand. There is a whole big market here that is expected to grow very fast."

Microsoft estimates the legal, non-pirated Thai market for personal computer software is now worth about $100 million -- tiny by international standards.

Peerapong said Microsoft had about half the Thai market but declined to give any specific figures on turnover.

"We would like to see double the PC growth and the PC growth is already very high growth. To sustain that growth is very hard but it is sustainable."

He said Microsoft expected about 70 percent of corporate information technology managers to migrate their current Windows systems to Windows 2000 "within a year."

"And we believe that with the momentum we have right now, with the (Thai) economy getting better, we hope to get a big "U" shape," he said. "The Internet is coming into our lives now and the local PC-makers are very aggressive and we are working very closely with them."

Peerapong said there were already reports that illegal copies of Windows 2000 were available for sale in Thailand but Microsoft was working actively with the Business Software Alliance (BSA) industry lobby group to try to stamp out piracy.

"We would like to stop that but our duty is to educate the market. We will support the BSA, with other software vendors, in whatever they are trying to do to reduce the piracy rate."

"A lot of people now realise that we have to respect and understand licences and I think the government has done a tremendous job in helping," he said.

Peerapong was speaking at a Thai launch of Windows 2000 that was almost disrupted by a row over the content of its popular Encarta Encyclopaedia Deluxe 2000 compact disc edition.

A paragraph in the encyclopaedia on Bangkok had referred to the Thai capital's infamous commercial sex industry, one of the largest and most visible in the world.

The reference prompted complaints from women's groups who described it as an insult to the Thai people.

Peerapong said Microsoft had written to Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai apologising for any offence caused and said the company had amended its online Encarta update to delete the offending paragraph from the encyclopaedia.

"When you install it and ask for an update from the Web, it ...will remove the whole thing and put in something more about culture," he said.

The new section on Bangkok did not mention the sex trade.

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