New investors have become
confident in Thailand, as seen from the number of new investment projects
seeking promotional privileges from the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI).
In his weekly televised public address on 19 September 2014 in the program “Return
Happiness to the People,” Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha stated that BOI had
received a total of 458 new applications for investment projects from January
to August 2014.
He said that the number accounted for 52 percent of the total applications during
the eight-month period. This indicates that new investors are starting to
invest in Thailand. The Government is accelerating the approval of pending
project applications to build investor confidence.
According to BOI, 886 investment projects, worth 416.5 billion baht, sought BOI
promotion between January and August 2014. In terms of the number of project
applications, it dropped by 27.7 percent, against that of the same period of
2013. It terms of value, it declined by 38.2 percent.
When compared with the period from January to July 2014, the investment
situation shows a sign of improvement. During the seven-month period,
Thailand’s investment dropped by 30.3 percent in terms of number of projects
and 41.4 percent in terms of value.
As for the eight-month period of 2014, the industries with the highest
investment value include metal products, machinery, and transport equipment,
with 181 projects valued at 190.6 billion baht. The second group of industries
includes services and public utilities, with 260 projects valued at 108 billion
baht. The third group includes chemicals, paper, and plastics, with 93 projects
valued at 45.1 billion baht. The fourth group includes agriculture and
agricultural products, with 135 projects worth 28.4 billion baht.
Out of the 886 investment applications from January to August, 550 projects
were direct foreign investment projects, worth 288.34 billion baht. This
represents a decline of 9 percent in value. In the overall picture, the rate of
decline is small.
Japan remains the largest group of foreign investors in Thailand, with 250
projects worth 100 billion baht during the eight-month period. The second
largest group of foreign investors is the European Union, with 83 projects
worth 74.5 billion baht, followed by the United States, with 20 projects worth
40.7 billion baht, and the Republic of Korea, with 30 projects valued at 13.9
billion baht.
Now BOI is still promoting investment with the current promotion policy. The
new investment strategy is expected to be in effect from the beginning of 2015.
Therefore, investors submitting investment applications during 2014 will
receive promotional privileges in accordance with the existing policy.
(thailand.prd.go.th)