Missing the mark
Re: "Don't mess with Russia", (PostBag, Oct 27).
It seems to have escaped the notice of Putin fan Nick Ferriman that Russia has not inflicted any "strategic defeat" on Nato, since Ukraine has never been a member of that organisation.
In actual fact, Putin has not only poorly suffered while mired in his illegal annexation of foreign sovereign territory, but Nato has been strengthened by the addition of two new members, Finland and Sweden.
Some "strategic defeat" that is.
Startups need fuel
Re: "Researcher offers pointers on shaping a 'startup nation'", (BP, Oct 24).
According to Tech in Asia and the World Bank, there seem to be only 180 funded startups in Thailand, a figure dwarfed by that of neighbouring rivals like Singapore (1,800), Indonesia (900), or Vietnam (400). Thai startups also raised a record high of US$1.25 billion (42 billion baht) in 2022. The sheer potential size of the Thai startup ecosystem is underrepresented, and many viable business seeds may, unfortunately, go under the radar.
The way I see it, Thailand faces hurdles to overcome to thrive and nurture a bustling hotbed for startups. Thai startup communities need more seed/series A capital, talented local and international professionals like CFO, seasoned accelerators, well-designed HR incentive schemes or career development opportunities, and compelling equity stories for upside potential beyond the border. Moreover, when it comes to exit alternatives, Thai entrepreneurs (and VCs) may look to go IPO outside of Thailand (eg, Nasdaq) to maximise their monetisation through more attractive multiples, global outreach, and tapping into a diverse set of investors and deeper capital pool. The Thai government should also support infrastructure and ease SME regulations for aspiring Thai entrepreneurs.
All these collective efforts could drive the Thai transition to a thriving and accommodative ecosystem for transformative startups with venture and global mindsets, which would help address the pressing issues in Thailand and beyond. If this grand endeavour results in a critical mass of positive steps, Thailand can be better positioned to create an innovation loop and the next wave of unique Thai unicorns.
The government should focus not only on distributing wealth equitably, with the top 10% wealthy accounting for 75% of the country's financial wealth, but also on growing the pie through collaborative facilitation to foster game changers in the private sectors.
Hungry seas
Re: "Stop conning the public, now!", (PostBag, Oct 27) & "Seawall plan raises ire", (BP, Oct 2).
Michael Setter says that the premise of sea-level rising is fraudulent. Oh, were that true. But it's not. Ask the people of Tuvalu, a Pacific Ocean island state with an average elevation above sea level of 10 feet. Locals keep an eye on the shoreline and note that it is creeping upwards -- "the sea is getting hungrier", as one local put it. The sea level is now nearly 6 inches higher than 30 years ago. And it's expected to continue to rise. A very real problem for the locals and for many other coastal dwellers around the world.
Thailand is not exempt. See Samut Songkhram. But at least Thais have higher land to retreat to.
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