Foreign business approvals in Thailand rise 26% with investment up 37%
Approved foreign businesses invested THB219.208 billion from January to July 2026, with Singapore leading by value and BOI-channel investment reaching THB157.328 billion.
- In the first seven months of 2026, Thailand approved 736 foreign businesses, a 26% increase compared to the same period in 2025.
- The total investment value from these approvals grew by 37% year-on-year, reaching THB219 billion.
- Singapore was the top country by investment value (THB61.1 billion), while China had the highest number of approved businesses (133).
- The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) was a key investment destination, attracting 30% of foreign investors and 39% of the total investment capital.
The Department of Business Development (DBD) reported a total investment of THB219 billion by foreign businesses approved to operate in Thailand during the first seven months of 2026, up 37% from the same period in 2025.
Singapore recorded the highest investment value at THB61.1 billion, followed by Japan at THB45 billion and China at THB38.6 billion.
Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, director-general of the DBD under the Ministry of Commerce and secretary to the Foreign Business Commission, said 736 foreign investors had been granted permission to invest in and operate businesses in Thailand under the Foreign Business Act 1999 during the first seven months of 2026.
Of these, 177 were approved through the foreign business licence route and 559 through the foreign business certificate route under the investment promotion law, the law governing the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, or rights granted by treaties or international agreements.
Total investment amounted to THB219.208 billion.
Five leading sources by number of approved businesses
Businesses from China numbered 133, or 18% of the 736 approvals, with investment of THB38.603 billion.
Their activities included:
- Engineering and technical services
- Engineering design, construction and installation of natural gas pipeline systems
- Distribution-centre services using modern systems
- Contract manufacturing, including plastic parts for industry, products made from recycled paper and electric vehicle chargers
Businesses from the United States numbered 121, or 16% of the 736 approvals, with investment of THB6.226 billion.
Their activities included:
- Engineering services
- Advertising
- Wood processing for furniture and household articles
- Contract manufacturing, including circuit breakers, automated operational control systems and plastic pellets
Businesses from Singapore numbered 97, or 13% of the 736 approvals, with investment of THB61.112 billion.
Their activities included:
- Wood veneer manufacturing
- Energy-efficient data centre services
- Franchising services for food and beverage sales businesses
- Contract manufacturing, including animal feed, formed metal components and recycled metals
Businesses from Japan numbered 94, or 13% of the 736 approvals, with investment of THB45.085 billion.
Their activities included:
- Engineering and technical services
- Electric vehicle charging-station services
- Software development services
- Contract manufacturing, including electronic components, generators and metal products
Businesses from Hong Kong numbered 72, or 10% of the 736 approvals, with investment of THB14.077 billion.
Their activities included:
- Petroleum drilling services within concessioned exploration blocks in the Gulf of Thailand
- Engineering design, materials and equipment procurement, and the installation and testing of wind-power generation systems for wind-power projects
- Software development and improvement services
- Contract production services, including solar-generated electricity, cooker hoods and industrial machinery
Compared with the same period in 2025, the number of foreign business approvals increased by 153, or 26%, from 583 to 736.
Investment rose by THB59.748 billion, or 37%, from THB159.46 billion to THB219.208 billion.
Foreign investors using the licence route employed 5,229 Thai workers, 1,144 more than the 4,085 recorded in the same period of 2025, an increase the department put at 22%.
Investment under the investment promotion law through the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) formed the largest single channel, covering 360 businesses, or 49% of all 736 approvals, with investment of THB157.328 billion.
This was in line with the government’s policy of attracting foreign investment in future industries, including advanced technology, digital industries, AI, electric vehicles, clean energy and agri-food.
The three leading business categories approved through the BOI channel were:
- Contract manufacturing services for products such as aircraft engine cases, automated machinery and smart electronic products, supporting the development of higher-value-added manufacturing.
- High-value services under the Trade and Investment Support Office (TISO), International Business Centre (IBC) and International Procurement Office (IPO) categories, which play an important role in developing Thailand into a regional trade and investment hub.
- Computer-related services, including data centres and software or platform development, in line with the Digital Economy and AI Services targets.
Poonpong added that the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) provinces attracted interest from 220 foreign investors from January to July 2026, accounting for 30% of all foreign investors in Thailand.
This was an increase of 44 investors, or 25%, from 176 in the same period of 2025.
Investment in the EEC provinces totalled THB85.615 billion, representing 39% of all investment.
These comprised 80 investors from China, with investment of THB30.042 billion; 31 from Japan, with THB22.636 billion; 26 from Hong Kong, with THB4.803 billion; and 83 from other countries, with THB28.134 billion.
Their businesses included:
- Maintenance of aircraft nacelles and nacelle components for military aircraft
- Wood processing for furniture production
- Distribution-centre services using modern systems
- Contract production services, including solar-generated electricity and electronic products such as printed circuit board assembly (PCBA)
In July 2026 alone, 96 foreign businesses were granted permission to operate in Thailand.
Of these, 26 were approved through the foreign business licence route and 70 through the foreign business certificate route under the investment promotion law, the law governing the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, or rights granted by treaties or international agreements.
Total investment amounted to THB31.594 billion.
Most of the approved foreign investors were from China, Singapore and the United States, in that order.
Foreign investors using the licence route employed 960 Thai workers.
Specialised technological knowledge was also transferred directly from the investors’ countries of origin to Thais, including knowledge of petroleum well control, the operation and maintenance of clean energy equipment, and the management of machinery moulds used in automobile production.
Businesses approved for foreign operation in July 2026 included:
- Petroleum drilling services within concessioned exploration blocks in the Gulf of Thailand
- Energy-efficient data centre services
- Electric vehicle charging-station services
- Contract manufacturing, including smart electronic products, switchgear and electric vehicle chargers
