Data centres drive BOI surge as 2025 investment value hits Bt1.876trn

Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) said applications for investment promotion in 2025 surged in both volume and value, with total project value rising 67% to Bt1.876 trillion.

A total of 3,370 projects applied for BOI privileges, up 11% year-on-year, BOI secretary-general Narit Therdsteerasukdi said on Monday. The rise, he added, reflected investor confidence in Thailand’s capacity to host long-term investment, particularly in advanced-technology and green industries.

Confidence built on fundamentals and global positioning

Narit said investors see Thailand as having strong fundamentals suited to the “new economy”, pointing to infrastructure and logistics, clean-energy potential, a skilled workforce and a complete supply chain.

He also cited clear and consistent investment-promotion policies, investment facilitation measures, and Thailand’s efforts to maintain neutrality and constructive ties with countries worldwide—supporting trade across multiple markets.

Digital takes the lead as data centres dominate

The digital industry attracted the largest investment value, totalling Bt746,198 million across 151 projects, driven mainly by data-centre investments.

Applicants included companies from Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Europe and Thailand, such as Zenith Data Center & Cloud Services, Galaxy Peak Data Center, K2 Strategic Infrastructure, and True Internet Data Center. Other digital projects included software development, digital service platforms and digital content.

Electronics surge powered by PCB and battery investments

The electronics and electrical appliances sector ranked second, with Bt277,645 million across 470 projects.

High-value activities included printed circuit board (PCB) production and PCB materials, with 94 projects worth a combined Bt249,162 million, involving firms such as Peng Chen Technology, Gold Circuit Electronics, Panasonic Manufacturing Ayutthaya, and Delta Electronics.

The sector also covered telecommunications components, IC design, semiconductor and integrated-circuit assembly and testing, smart electronics and appliances, and Thailand’s first upstream cell-level battery plant by Sunwoda Automotive Energy Technology, a top-10 global producer of battery cells for EVs and energy-storage systems, according to the BOI.

Automotive, food and chemicals round out top five

Other target industries with the highest investment value were:

• Automotive and parts: Bt84,085 million across 288 projects, including vehicle production by Japanese makers such as Isuzu Motors, motorcycle production by Triumph Motorcycles, and tyre production by Sumitomo Rubber, as well as aircraft tyres and smart in-vehicle systems.
• Agriculture and food processing: Bt75,683 million across 301 projects, spanning food and seasoning production, packaging from agricultural outputs or residues, rubber processing, animal feed—especially pet food—and oils from plant or animal sources.
• Petrochemicals and chemicals: Bt58,396 million across 267 projects, including recycled polypropylene plastic pellets, conductive carbon black powder for lithium-ion batteries, and aseptic plastic packaging.

Renewable energy and medical projects also draw sizeable investment

Beyond the top five, the BOI cited high-value applications in:

• Renewable energy and waste-to-energy power generation: Bt107,655 million across 445 projects
• Medical businesses (medical devices and healthcare services): Bt28,883 million across 101 projects

“Smart and Sustainable Industry” scheme applications nearly double

Applications under the Smart and Sustainable Industry upgrade scheme—a measure aimed at helping existing operators improve efficiency—totalled 473 projects in 2025, with combined investment of Bt68,269 million, up 99%.

Most projects involved adopting digital technology, upgrading machinery and introducing automation into production lines.

FDI keeps expanding; Singapore tops investment value

Foreign direct investment (FDI) applications continued to rise, with 2,421 projects seeking BOI promotion, up 21%, with investment value of Bt1,359,925 million, up 66%.

The top 10 sources by requested investment value were:

• Singapore: Bt547,316m (457 projects)
• Hong Kong: Bt245,335m (266)
• China: Bt172,114m (982)
• Japan: Bt119,098m (311)
• United Kingdom: Bt100,322m (29)
• United States: Bt33,154m (61)
• Taiwan: Bt29,311m (142)
• Netherlands: Bt24,998m (68)
• France: Bt16,097m (20)
• Switzerland: Bt13,823m (10)

Narit said the sharp rise in Singapore-linked investment was driven by large projects whose parent companies are Chinese, Japanese and American.

Eastern region captures nearly 60% of total investment value

By location, nearly 60% of total investment value was concentrated in the Eastern region at Bt1,109,349 million.

Other regions were:

• Central: Bt428,137m
• Northeast: Bt111,567m
• South: Bt35,044m
• North: Bt32,465m
• West: Bt14,214m

Promotion certificates point to real investment in 1–2 years

After the BOI approves a project, companies must submit financial and incorporation documents before receiving promotion certificates—a step the BOI describes as closest to actual investment.

In 2025, 2,779 projects received certificates, with investment value of Bt1,152,782 million, up 36%. Narit said this signalled that substantial real investment inflows could materialise over the next one to two years, helping support the economy.

2026 outlook: five drivers, five missions

Narit said investment momentum in 2026 is expected to continue, driven by:

1. Manufacturing relocation amid geopolitical tensions, as firms diversify beyond China while keeping “China for China” production and expanding in ASEAN for global exports, including to the US.
2. Fast-moving digital and AI investment, accelerating data centres, AI infrastructure and cloud services, alongside semiconductors and advanced electronics.
3. Sustainability pressures, pushing green investment across logistics, inputs, production, products and packaging, and lifting demand for clean energy.
4. Ageing societies, shrinking labour forces and rising demand for digitalisation, automation and robotics.
5. Thailand’s readiness, supported by consistent investment-promotion policies and a more business-friendly environment.

For 2026, the BOI’s priorities include attracting investment in target sectors—especially five strategic industries: BCG, EVs and batteries, semiconductors and advanced electronics, digital and AI, and international business centre activities—alongside health and medical services, automation and robotics, and aviation.

Other missions include building high-skill talent through government programmes, drawing high-skilled professionals via visa and work-permit facilitation (including BOI, LTR and SMART visas) and enhancing services at the One Stop Service Centre at One Bangkok.

The BOI also aims to strengthen supply chains for EVs, batteries, semiconductors, PCBs and data centres through matchmaking and sourcing events, and to improve investment facilitation via Thailand FastPass. The BOI has selected an initial batch of 16 FastPass projects worth more than Bt170 billion, and is working on service-level agreements with partner agencies to address bottlenecks such as electricity and clean-energy supply, land expansion, and visa and work-permit processes.