271 foreign firms get the nod in first 8 months
THE COMMERCE Ministry's Business Development Department gave approval to 271 foreign companies to set up operations worth a total of Bt10.32 billion under the Foreign Business Act (FBA) during the first eight months of the year.
The number of approvals is 4 per cent higher than the same period last year, while the value of initial capital investment decreased by Bt3.89 billion.
The department said permitting these companies to conduct service businesses in Thailand would encourage a technology transfer and create jobs for Thais.
Pongpun Gearaviriyapun, director-general of the department, said foreign investors were highly interested in establishing businesses in Thailand as part of their regional integration policies.
“More investment will be seen in the remaining months of the year, as well as through next year. The government will try to facilitate more investment under the its policies and regional integration, which will be fully implemented by the end of this year,” she said.
This month alone, 29 companies were approved under the FBA, down 17 per cent from August last year, but the initial investment capital was higher, at Bt1.7 billion.
Pongpun said the August approvals would create at least 100 new jobs for Thais.
Most of the companies approved this month are subsidiaries and trading businesses, retail firms, and consultancies.
The investors mostly hail from Switzerland, Britain, France, Germany, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.
