31 foreign companies approved in May
The Commerce Ministry's Business Development Department has given approval for 31 foreign firms with initial investment capital of Bt962 million to set up operations in Thailand this month under the Foreign Business Act.
Of those 31 firms, 11 are new companies, indicating that more newcomers are considering investing in Thailand, the department says.
Pongpun Gearaviriyapun, director-general of the department, said foreign firms had been investing more as Asean integrates and the Thai government invests in infrastructure projects. She said new foreign firms should continue to invest more in Thailand to enhance their business growth in Asean.
The approval of these 31 foreign firms will create at least 363 new jobs for Thais.
Foreign investment helps transfer knowledge and technology to Thai employees, the department says.
In the first five months of this year, 175 foreign firms have received approval to do business in Thailand under the FBA in the service sector.
