True Group plans to create the largest digital hub in Southeast Asia.

True Group will open True Digital Park by the end of 2018, laying claim to the world's largest co-working space.

The company has invested some 500 million baht in True Digital Park, which aligns with the government's Thailand 4.0 initiative and the goal of becoming the digital hub of Asean.

"We expect our space to be fully occupied before the grand opening by the end of 2018," said Thanasorn Jaidee, president of True Digital Park, a subsidiary of True Corporation that launched last month with 1 million baht in registered capital.

True Digital Park covers 77,000 square metres, of which 40,000 square metres is ready for the first phase and the rest is expected to be completed by 2022.

He said businesses are interested to book some 40% of the total 40,000 sq m of available space.

"Our co-working space of 30,000 square metres is probably the world's largest co-working space, larger than the current largest in France," Mr Thanasorn said.

True Digital Park is part of the Whizdom101 mixed-use development, located on Sukhumvit Road near Punnawithi skytrain station, one of 15 pilot innovation districts set up by the National Innovation Agency.

True Digital Park features four fully-integrated spaces: co-working space for working, learning and innovating, open for entrepreneurs, startups and corporate teams; enterprise space as state of the art offices for tech companies and mature startups; innovation space equipped with latest tech tools, open labs and experience centres, as well as events and business services space in one large auditorium, events halls and one-stop-service centre to provide a wide range of consultations and support.

In addition, True Digital Park will be equipped with fast internet connectivity, along with IoT solutions and digital service platforms, such as cloud computing and e-payment solutions, to provide a rigorous support for running any kind of business.

Mr Thanasorn says businesses have expressed interest in 40% of the space.

The main participants of the ecosystem are global tech giants who aim set up their headquarters or subsidiaries, open labs or experience centres in Thailand and work closely with startups on innovation.

Startups and entrepreneurs focusing on IoT and big analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, e-commerce, creative content and gaming, fintech, edutech, traveltech, agritech, healthtech and more are the target.

True Digital Park is under construction and is expected to open by the end of 2018. The project has earned support from both public and private sectors such as Digital Economy Promotion Agency, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, and multinational companies, venture capital funds (VCs), incubators, accelerators, investors and startups.

"Only at True Digital Park will corporations and startups be exposed to amazing talent and inspiring figures from around the globe to foster knowledge-sharing and digital innovation," Mr Thanasorn said. "The park will be home to leading accelerators, incubators, VCs and investors from the region and overseas. The project will create a positive impact and attract funding and investment to drive the economy and society on a digital platform towards Thailand 4.0."