BOI reports 1.3 trillion Baht investment in first nine months

Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of the Board of Investment (BOI), revealed that investment in Thailand continues to grow steadily in 2025. Over the first nine months (January - September 2025), the number of investment promotion applications has notably increased, both in terms of the number of projects and investment value. There were 2,622 projects, up 23% compared to the same period last year, with a total investment value of 1,374,553 million Baht, an increase of 94%. This reflects investor confidence in Thailand, driven by strong fundamentals, readiness to support investment, growth potential in the long term, and Thailand’s role as a key investment hub in the ASEAN region.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) continues to grow, with 1,947 projects, an increase of 38%, and a total investment value of 985,337 million Baht, an increase of 82%. The top five countries/economic regions with the highest investment requests are Singapore (359,805 million Baht), Hong Kong (237,264 million Baht), China (142,887 million Baht), the United Kingdom (100,295 million Baht), and Japan (73,754 million Baht).

The significant increase in FDI is attributed to investments in large Data Center projects from Singapore and the United Kingdom, and cell-level battery production for electric vehicles and energy storage systems from Hong Kong. These represent critical infrastructure that will help drive advanced technology industries, reflecting the confidence foreign investors have in Thailand’s economy and long-term growth potential.

Key sectors with high investment values over the first nine months include:

1. Digital: Particularly Data Center operations, an important infrastructure, and digital content services, software platform development, with an investment value of 612,768 million Baht (119 projects).
2. Electronics and Electrical Appliances: Such as PCB manufacturing, Hard Disk Drives, electronic components, cell-level battery production, and smart electrical appliances, with an investment value of 184,078 million Baht (382 projects).
3. Renewable Energy: Including solar, wind, and biomass power generation, with an investment value of 74,212 million Baht (300 projects).
4. Automotive and Parts: Including production line upgrades for cars and motorcycles, tire production, automotive and aircraft parts, with an investment value of 70,985 million Baht (229 projects).
5. Agriculture and Food: Including food processing, animal feed, natural ingredient extracts, rubber products, and agricultural by-product goods, with an investment value of 47,200 million Baht (228 projects).
6. Petrochemicals and Chemicals: Including plastic products for industrial use, with an investment value of 36,766 million Baht (230 projects).
7. Medical: Including hospital operations, specialised medical centres, and medical equipment production, with an investment value of 25,086 million Baht (89 projects).
8. Tourism: Including hotels and tourism-related infrastructure projects, with an investment value of 15,902 million Baht (21 projects).

Regarding geographical investment distribution, most of the investment is concentrated in the Eastern region, with 855,228 million Baht from 1,431 projects. Other regions include the Central region (300,300 million Baht), Northeastern region (28,560 million Baht), Northern region (25,940 million Baht), Southern region (24,445 million Baht), and Western region (12,664 million Baht), in descending order.

Additionally, there has been growing interest in investment promotion under the Smart and Sustainable Industry programme, which supports businesses investing to upgrade existing operations for higher efficiency. Over the first nine months of 2025, there were 402 applications, an increase of 49%, with a total investment value of 37,652 million Baht, up 81%. This largely comprises investments aimed at transitioning to Industry 4.0, adopting digital technologies, upgrading machinery for improved efficiency, and incorporating automation, robotics, energy-saving, and renewable energy systems, alongside reducing environmental impacts.

As for investment promotion approvals, in the first nine months of 2025, there were 2,413 projects approved, with an investment value of 1,114,798 million Baht. The benefits of these approved projects are expected to involve domestic raw material consumption of approximately 610 billion Baht per year, the creation of over 175,000 jobs, and an increase in the country’s export value by over 1.4 trillion Baht annually. Meanwhile, the investment promotion card issuance stage saw 2,050 projects, with a total investment of 947,661 million Baht.

“The statistics for the first nine months of this year show a continuous wave of investment flowing into Thailand, especially in critical infrastructure projects like Data Centers and new industries using advanced technologies, such as semiconductors, PCBs, and cell-level battery production. These will play a pivotal role in strengthening Thailand’s supply chain for key industries such as automotive and electronics. The increase in investment funds will boost employment growth, skills and technology development, exports, and significantly increase the use of domestic raw materials. The BOI will expedite the implementation of key projects through the Thailand FastPass mechanism, as part of the government’s Quick Big Win policy, to inject funds into the economy in a tangible way,” said Mr. Narit.