As the government seeks to elevate Thailand to the status of a high-income nation, the formation of a digital platform through the “Thailand 4.0” project is seen as an essential element of economic transformation, with the focus now fixed firmly on enhancing research and development, science and technology, and creative thinking and innovation.

Higher life expectancy, a growing middle-income population, and the government’s policy of promoting access to medicine are key drivers boosting demand for healthcare-related businesses in Thailand. In 2015, healthcare expenditures accounted for 4.6 percent of Thailand’s GDP, and there is an increasing trend in government budgetary spending in healthcare. Due to these factors, the healthcare market is experiencing strong growth, bringing opportunities in cosmetics, health supplements, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals.

The private sector in Indonesia has been vocal about their concern for the government’s plan to make halal certification mandatory, believing that this requirement will add a greater burden to their business. Amid criticism, the government is moving forward with its halal assurance system, citing, among other reasons, the need for a government agency to be the new halal certification authority to create greater transparency in the existing certification process.Halal Regulators

On October 17, 2017, the government of Vietnam issued Decree No. 116/2017/ND-CP setting out the conditions for the manufacture, assembly, importation, and offering of warranty and maintenance services of automobiles (Decree 116). In light of the new decree, which took immediate effect, companies operating in the automotive industry in Vietnam may find it necessary to comply with strict new regulations in order to carry out their business in the country.Automobile Importation

On November 17, 2017, the Myanmar Ministry of Commerce issued Notification No. 55/2017, under section (13) (B) of the Import and Export Law, which grants permission for joint ventures (JV) between foreign and domestic companies to carry out the retail or wholesale trade of agricultural machinery.The Notification provides that any foreign-domestic JV company that wishes to trade in agricultural machinery must:

The scope of Thailand’s intellectual property protections was recently widened, with the new definition of marks going beyond the visual elements of a mark to include those possessing auditory characteristics. This brings Thailand in line with scores of other jurisdictions that already allow trademark registration for sound marks.The amended Trademark Act B.E. 2534 (1991) was implemented on July 28, 2016, and now includes “sound” as a category of mark. Section 4, paragraph 1 of the Act now states that:

Licensing of TV show formats is big business, generating billions of dollars in global revenue every year for show creators. In licensing popular show formats, licensees obtain security by investing in TV shows which have already been proven successful, and show creators enjoy the extra revenue streams created by licensing their shows for production and broadcast in new markets, which can strengthen their brand and increase the value of future licenses.