Thailand expects BOI investment to create up to 600,000 quality jobs
Second-quarter investment reached about THB250 billion, up 31%, while growth in smart electronics and AI is expected to create 500,000–600,000 jobs.
- Investment growth through the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) is projected to create between 500,000 and 600,000 new jobs.
- The majority of these new positions are described as "quality jobs," which are expected to offer higher incomes and improve workers' skills.
- This job growth is primarily driven by investments in modern industries, including smart electronics, AI-related fields, and clean energy.
- The forecast is based on realized BOI investment totaling over THB 500 billion in the first half of the year, a significant increase from the previous year.
Ekniti Nitithanprapas, Minister of Finance, said realised investment through the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) reached about THB250 billion in the second quarter of this year, up 31% from the same period last year.
This lifted the total for the first half of the year above THB500 billion.
The figures reflected the use of an investment-led economic policy, or “Investment Growth”, to support the economy in the short term and strengthen competitiveness over the longer term.
“This investment will support the Thai economy in the second quarter, when we were affected by the war in the Middle East. The Thai Chuay Thai Plus programme was not in place in time, but private-sector investment unlocked through BOI Fast Pass provided support before the move to the current Thailand FastPass.”
Ekniti said an analysis of the investment mix found particularly strong growth in smart electronics and AI-related industries, including photonics, or light-based data transmission, sensors and printed circuit boards (PCBs), all of which are important parts of AI infrastructure.
This was consistent with a recent World Bank study identifying Thailand as one of five countries with strong potential to benefit from the global AI trend.
New industries expected to create up to 600,000 jobs
Investment growth in these modern industries is expected to create about 500,000–600,000 jobs, most of them “quality jobs” offering higher incomes, helping to raise living standards and improve the English-language skills of Thai workers.
Investment in clean energy is also continuing to increase, forming an important part of economic restructuring aimed at reducing reliance on imported oil.
“A key condition of the Thailand FastPass policy is that recipients of incentives must carry out at least 20% of their investment within the first year. The target is to push private investment to double-digit growth this year, something that has not happened for several years.”
Ekniti said the recovery in private investment was the main factor leading credit-rating agencies to adopt a more stable outlook on the Thai economy.
Despite the impact of the war in the Middle East and oil prices in the second quarter, realised investment helped “offset”, or cushion, the economy and prevent external pressures from pushing it into decline.
“We estimate that private investment will help support the Thai economy in the short term. Without the war, the economy would improve considerably.”
Investment to support GDP growth above 3%
Vice Minister for Finance Santitarn Sathirathai said the government was targeting GDP growth of more than 3%, in line with the goal set by the Joint Public and Private Sector Committee for Economic Problem Solving (JPPCC).
He said investment was more important than other growth engines because it increased competitiveness, the key to sustainably restoring Thai GDP growth to more than 3%.
However, the government wanted to see not only short-term GDP growth, but long-term growth as well.
