Innovative policies to support technology and ICT development

•The paper discusses the government policies to promote ICT businesses.•The analysis compares the policies and strategies of Taiwan and Thailand.•It offers policy recommendations to support ICT development in Thailand.•The advanced ICT R&D is a key challenge in entering AEC in 2015.

This study is concerned with the government policies and programs to support the process of technology and innovation development of Thailand. The paper also discusses the government policies to promote the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) businesses. The comparative case of Taiwan has shown that the strong innovation networks under the management of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) enable the successful technology catch-ups. The results show the government interventionist models of Thailand and Taiwan in providing various financing policies and programs to develop high technology-based businesses. The analyses of policy implications and strategic implementation of innovation financing programs provide useful lessons for other developing economies.