Foreign investment hits 331bn baht in 11 months; Japan leads by projects
Foreign investment approvals rose 10% in Jan–Nov 2025 to 973 projects, while value surged 45% to 331.16bn baht, the DBD said
Foreign investment in Thailand rose in both volume and value in the first 11 months of 2025, with total approved investment reaching 331.162 billion baht, up 45% year on year, according to the Department of Business Development (DBD).
Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, Director-General of the DBD under the Commerce Ministry, said approvals for foreign nationals to operate businesses in Thailand under the Foreign Business Act, B.E. 2542 (1999)—limited to businesses required to obtain permission—in November 2025 totalled 104 cases.
Of these, 35 were investments approved through applications for a foreign business licence, while 69 were approvals for a foreign business certificate—covering investment channels under the investment promotion law, authorisation under the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand law, and treaty or international agreement rights. Total investment in November was 34.426 billion baht, with most investors coming from Singapore, China and Japan, he said.
For the January–November 2025 period, approvals totalled 973 cases, comprising 263 licence applications and 710 foreign business certificates. Total investment value was 331.162 billion baht.
The number of approvals in the 11-month period increased by 89 cases (10%) from 884 in the same period of 2024, while investment value rose by 97.198 billion baht (45%) from 213.964 billion baht, Poonpong said.
Top five investor countries (January–November 2025)
- Japan: 169 cases (17% of foreign businesses), investment 82.505 billion baht
- Singapore: 146 cases (15%), investment 100.265 billion baht
- United States: 137 cases (14%), investment 5.038 billion baht
- China: 133 cases (14%), investment 33.119 billion baht
- Hong Kong: 104 cases (11%), investment 14.496 billion baht
- Other countries accounted for 284 cases (29%) with total investment of 75.739 billion baht.
EEC investment
Investment in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) in January–November 2025, under the Foreign Business Act, totalled 277 cases—28% of foreign investors in Thailand. This was 4 cases higher than the same period of 2024, the DBD said.
Total investment value in the EEC was 101.666 billion baht, accounting for 33% of overall foreign investment.
Key investors in the EEC were:
- China: 72 cases, 18.667 billion baht
- Japan: 60 cases, 32.349 billion baht
- Singapore: 40 cases, 22.705 billion baht
- Others: 105 cases, 27.945 billion baht
