1. Introduction
The objective of this article is to find the answer whether Thailand has such proper policies and laws to support the growth of trade via electronic commerce. In order to fulfill the objective, the author will divide the article into four parts as follows;
Part One - Overview of Electronic Commerce: This part will give meaning and illustrate the available types of electronic commerce. It will also indicate the advantages of electronic commerce, as well as, its value of trade in Thailand;
Part Two - Policies of Thailand Concerning Electronic Commerce: This part will demonstrate the policies and master plans of Thailand which concern electronic commerce;
Part Three - The Laws Relating to Electronic Commerce: The third part will review the present legal provisions in Thailand, both directly and indirectly, relating to electronic commerce in order to analyze whether these provisions facilitate and support the growth of electronic commerce in Thailand; and
Part Four - Conclusion.
Part One: Overview of Electronic Commerce
Electronic commerce is a new form of trade which has played an important role in modern trade at both national and international levels. In general term,”electronic commerce” means the dispatch and/or receipt of data message by electronic means in order to conclude a commercial transaction. This data message covers all kind of information whether expressed in form of a letter, number, sound or image. Classic example of electronic commerce is on-line trading which is buying and selling goods and providing service over electronic networks.