Thailand wins gold medals in int'l innovation contest

BANGKOK, June 13 (TNA) - Thai business operators have grabbed gold medals in an international innovation contest, involving entries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as other Asian and European countries. The invention of oil-degrading bacteria by Thailand-based Hi-Grimm Environmental and Research Co. has won a gold medal in technology competition and two special awards from the 23rd International Invention, Innovation & Technology Exhibition (ITEX ’12), recently held in Malaysia which gathered over 800 entries from the 10-member ASEAN and other Asian and European nations. V Biotech Co, another Thai firm, has also won a gold medal in the agriculture competition category for its innovation concerning rhizobium bacteria which strengthens economic plants, especially soybean. Suwipa Wannasathop, Deputy Director of the Technology Management Center under Thailand's National Science and Technology Development Agency or NSTDA, said today that the awards would promote the competitiveness of Thai business operators in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), scheduled to be established by 2015, and the NSTDA would create more intellectual property to further support Thai business operators. (TNA)