Land sales, rent rose 47 per cent driven by EEC

Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) governor Verapong Chaiperm said recently that the sales and rent of industrial estate land plots in the period increased 1.2 per cent year on year to 2,156.40 rai (345 hectares), of which 1,956.33 rai, or 90 per cent, was due to rental and sales of land plots in EEC industrial estates.
The EEC zone spans from Rayong, Chonburi to Chachoengsao.
According to the Board of Investment (BOI), in the first half of this year applications to invest in the EEC totalled 150 projects worth Bt87.43 billion, accounting for 30 per cent of the nation’s total investment applications worth Bt291.79 billion in the first six months. 
The BOI is targeting Bt150 billion in investment applications for EEC projects this year.
A group of Taiwanese investors recently visited EEC to scope out investment opportunities. Last week, Thailand signed an industrial collaboration agreement with Taiwan at the 2017 Taiwan-Thailand Industrial Collaboration Summit in Bangkok.
The collaboration covers five industries: food and biotechnology, textiles, cultural and creative, smart machinery, and IT services.
Verapong expects to see continued business investment in the industrial estate zones nationwide, in line with the forecast economic recovery and the forecast expansion of the export sector this year.
The Fiscal Policy Office last week raised its economic growth forecast this year to 3.6 per cent from 3.4 per cent.
The office also projects export of goods and services to expand by 3.2 per cent this year, compared with 2.1 per cent last year, while the value of export goods in dollar terms is expected to grow 4.7 per cent, up from 0.1 per cent last year. The office added that faster government spending on infrastructure projects, such as construction of new expressways and double-track rail, could push GDP growth by 4 per cent.
Verapong said that five industrial estates have already applied to the IEAT for status as a special economic zone. Among them are Rojana Industrial Park, Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate, Pinthong Industrial Estate, and CP Industrial Estate.
In a separate matter, each of eight IEAT-operated industrial estates will allocate more land plots, with an additional average of 30 rai (4.8 hectares) for constructing the finished factories to serve small and medium-sized enterprises, Verapong noted.