BoI applications in first nine months proves Thailand still attractive to foreign investors
Thailand has continued attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first nine months of this year, with an increased number of investment project applications, particularly in targeted industries, Thailand’s Board of Investment (BoI) said.
The total value of FDI applications received by the BoI from January to September rose 69 per cent compared to the same period last year, to a total value of Bt203.37 billion, the latest data from the BoI shows.
Applications for investments in the targeted industries, led by electronics and electrical sector, digital sector and automotive sector, represented Bt131.78 billion or 65 per cent of the total.
Of the 689 projects under consideration, Japan – which has long been the largest source of Thailand’s FDI – came in first with applications for 167 projects worth Bt59.19 billion, followed by China, with 139 projects worth Bt45.44 billion, and Switzerland with 15 projects worth Bt11.71 billion, BoI data showed.
“Based on the applications we received over nine months, it can be confirmed that Thailand continues being an attractive investment destination, despite the fluctuations seen in the global economy,” said Duangjai Asawachintachit, BoI secretary-general.
“With the recently-rolled out investment promotion privileges under the Thailand Plus Package aimed at investment acceleration and further measures to improve the country’s investment ecosystem and ease of doing business, we expect the growth momentum of FDI and overall investment in Thailand to continue to expand into 2020.”
Meanwhile, the overall investment applications, including domestic investments, submitted to the BoI in the nine-month period amounted to 1,165 projects, marking an increase of 11 per cent from the same period last year.
About half of these applications or 585 are for projects in targeted industries, including the digital sector, which came on top with 143 projects, followed by agriculture and food processing with 132 projects, and the electronics and electrical sector, which saw 103 projects.
