Thailand Urged to Strengthen Green Finance and Trade Resilience Amid Global Economic Shifts

At a high-level seminar bringing together Thai policymakers and international institutions, speakers urged Thailand to accelerate reforms that boost green finance, deepen trade resilience, and help domestic firms capture more value from global value chains. The discussion centered on intellectual property (IP), access to long-term finance, and innovative models to channel private capital into climate and digital infrastructure.

From Participation to Value Capture in Global Value Chains

Although developing economies account for a growing share of world trade, they continue to capture too little value from IP-intensive stages of production. Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) outlined a plan to convert innovation capacity into market returns by updating the national IP framework around targeted industries and global demand.

• IP creation: The DIP is working with the Ministry of Higher Education and innovation agencies to help startups, SMEs, and universities generate commercializable assets using self-check tools, patent searches, and trend analysis. The emphasis is on fewer, higher-quality filings that are defensible and licensable.
• IP protection: Revisions to patent, copyright, and industrial design laws aim to clear backlogs, streamline registration, and enable accession to international arrangements such as the Hague system for designs. Fast-track registration now prioritizes AI, green technology, and digital sectors.
• Commercialization: In partnership with WIPO, advisory centers and IP management clinics are helping SMEs use IP strategically. Geographical indications are a vital tool for rural communities, with 252 GI products already registered across agricultural and non-agricultural categories.
• IP financing: Despite a decade under the Business Collateral Act, IP-backed lending is still negligible—IP represents roughly 0.07% of collateralized value—due to valuation hurdles and the lack of secondary markets. Thailand is collaborating with WIPO and the Asian Development Bank to build an ecosystem for credible IP valuation, risk-sharing, and liquidation pathways.

Officials stressed that reinforcing these four pillars—creation, protection, commercialization, and financing—requires strong public–private collaboration to move from technology absorption toward innovation-led growth and higher value capture.

Fiscal Pressures and the Need for Long-Term Capital

Rising global interest rates have amplified debt-service costs across emerging economies, narrowing fiscal space for priority investments in health, education, infrastructure, and climate action. Limited access to affordable, long-term finance is likewise constraining private-sector innovation and capital formation.

To close these gaps, the World Bank is deploying concessional lending, guarantees, and blended finance structures that reduce capital costs and crowd in private participation—especially in climate and digital infrastructure, where large upfront needs and long paybacks often deter investors.

Scaling Up Green Investment and Managing Risk

Thailand is well-positioned to be a regional leader in green finance, yet significant challenges hinder the flow of capital into climate projects, particularly adaptation. Investors cite uncertain revenue streams, evolving regulatory frameworks, and currency risk as key barriers.

Experts proposed three priorities to unlock scale:

• Align national frameworks with international standards to raise transparency and credibility and prevent greenwashing.
• Develop investable revenue models for adaptation by engaging beneficiaries—such as tourism operators and coastal businesses—to co-create payment streams for ecosystem services.
• Deepen local currency markets so long-dated energy and resilience projects can be financed without excessive currency mismatch.

Coastal adaptation is a prime opportunity for public–private partnerships: hotels, tourism providers, and other local stakeholders can help finance shoreline protection and ecosystem restoration, with returns linked to measurable resilience outcomes and sustained tourism value.

Financial Cycles, Dollar Strength, and Trade

Research presented at the seminar underscores the tight link between global financial conditions and trade volumes. Historically, a 1% appreciation of the US dollar has been associated with a 0.6% decline in global trade roughly six months later. Because manufactured goods are more sensitive to financial cycles than primary commodities, Asian manufacturing hubs—including Thailand’s—are particularly exposed to swings in global liquidity and currency strength.

Trade finance remains a pressure point for SMEs. Multilateral institutions, including the International Finance Corporation, are expanding support to keep trade flowing when private liquidity tightens, helping firms maintain supply chain participation during periods of volatility.

A Pragmatic Roadmap for the Next Decade

Panelists were cautiously optimistic about Thailand’s medium-term prospects, provided reforms advance steadily. Priorities include strengthening institutional capacity, improving debt transparency and management, refining public investment frameworks, and deploying near-term financing tools that mobilize private capital.

By fortifying its IP value chain, aligning green finance standards, nurturing local currency markets, and piloting innovative adaptation partnerships, Thailand can enhance trade resilience, accelerate innovation-led growth, and position itself as a regional model for sustainable, inclusive development.