Company registrations in EEC drop over 14%
The number of firms registering in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) dropped 14.04 per cent to 4,879 in the first nine months of this year.
Their registered capital was Bt13.947 billion, down 29.70 per cent, said Department of Business Development director-general Tossapon Tangsubut.
The decline is due to Covid-19’s impact on the global economy, he added.
The property sector tops the rankings of new EEC registrations with 772 firms and total registered capital of Bt2.709 billion. Next comes the construction sector with 396 firms and Bt665 million in capital, and real estate agencies 189 firms and Bt508 million.
As of September 30, the EEC hosted a total 72,185 companies with combined capital of more than Bt1.944 trillion, up 1.91 per cent from the same period last year.
Of the total, 52,524 are located in Chon Buri with capital of Bt1.147 trillion, 13,810 are in Rayong with capital of about Bt609 billion, and 5,581 are in Chacheongsao with capital of Bt188.199 billion.
Meanwhile, the number of foreign businesses in the EEC rose one per cent over the past nine months to 526, with investment of Bt88.282 billion.
Foreign investment in the EEC via joint ventures with local partners is worth Bt790.205 billion. Japan tops the chart with Bt381.075 billion invested, followed by China at Bt90.298 billion, Singapore (Bt43.263 billion), the United States (Bt25.353 billion), and South Korea (Bt24.08) billion). Rayong boasts the largest share of foreign investment at 52.71 per cent.
