Digital-AI leads Thailand’s THB1 trillion future-industry boom

Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI), said that against the backdrop of global volatility and shifts in production bases, Thailand had continued to attract investor interest.

In the first quarter, applications for investment promotion were submitted for 624 projects worth THB1.016 trillion, up 2.4 times from the same period last year, driven by large-scale investment projects in the digital and electronics industries.

This reflected investor confidence in Thailand’s potential as an investment base for high-technology industries.

The five industry groups with the highest investment value were as follows:

• The digital industry, worth THB873.741 billion (48 projects), is mostly involved in investment in data centres and cloud services by leading companies from Singapore, Japan, the United Kingdom and Malaysia, such as TikTok System, Skyline Data Centre and Cloud Services, Global Switch and Evolution Data Centre. These projects will strengthen Thailand’s role as a regional hub for digital and AI infrastructure.
• The electronics and electrical appliances industry, worth THB40.456 billion (80 projects), mostly involved investment in advanced electronic parts, printed circuit boards (PCBs) and key equipment used in data centres, such as storage devices (HDDs), optical transceivers and servers for AI data centres.

The investments came from leading companies from the United States, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, such as Multi-Fineline Electronics, Celestica, Inventec, Cal-Comp Electronics, Western Digital Storage Technologies, Fabrinet and Canon Hi-Tech.

Many of these companies already have production bases in Thailand and are expanding investment into higher-technology products to meet AI technology needs and the demands of modern industries.

• The energy and basic utilities industry, worth THB17.103 billion (108 projects), is mostly involved in investment in electricity generation from clean energy, particularly solar and wind power, by Thai operators such as VoltSync Solution, Wangkhonkhwang Solar Energy, NP Watt, Kanchanaburi Solar Energy, Nongkhaem Solar Energy and Banpong Solar Energy. These projects will support Thailand’s transition to clean energy and the achievement of greenhouse gas reduction targets.
• The agriculture and food industry, worth THB16.963 billion (61 projects), mostly involved investment in processing businesses that add value to agricultural products, such as natural rubber products, modified starch, and animal raising and breeding businesses by Thai companies, including Sri Trang Agro-Industry, Siam Quality Starch and Farmlak. This reflected Thailand’s potential to build on agricultural raw materials and develop high-value products for both the domestic market and global exports.
• Logistics and high-value services, worth THB14.548 billion (68 projects), mostly involved investment in air transport businesses such as Thai Airways International, Thai Lion Mentari and Bangkok Airways; cargo handling for cargo vessels by Bangkok Gateway Terminal; and several maritime transport projects.

Other target-industry investments included the automotive and parts industry, especially production line upgrades to support new technology, tyre and aircraft tyre manufacturing and other automotive parts, at THB13.328 billion (63 projects); minerals, metals and materials, THB11.739 billion (63 projects); petrochemicals and chemicals, THB10.717 billion (65 projects); and machinery, automation and robotics, THB8.081 billion (38 projects).

Investment in data centres and cloud services, with a combined value of more than THB870 billion, accounted for 86% of investment in the quarter.

This was due to the rapid growth of the digital economy, particularly AI technology and the digital transformation of the business sector, which has sharply increased demand for data storage, cloud services and high-performance processing.

Data centres are therefore required as key infrastructure.

However, the BOI recognises the impact that data-centre promotion could have, particularly in terms of high electricity and water consumption and the benefits Thai people will receive.

It has therefore improved the conditions for data-centre promotion to make them more appropriate by setting electricity and water-efficiency standards in line with international standards.

Applicants for promotion must also receive certification of readiness for electricity supply from the Energy Regulatory Commission before applying for promotion, to ensure that investment is consistent with electricity production and distribution plans in each area and to prevent problems in electricity allocation for other users.

In addition, applicants must propose plans to create benefits for Thailand, such as developing Thai personnel and SMEs or supporting the domestic supply chain.

These plans must be completed before the use of corporate income tax benefits, to ensure that the projects generate worthwhile and appropriate benefits for the country.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) continued to expand, with applications submitted for 427 projects and a total investment of THB965.869 billion.

The 10 countries/economic areas with the highest application values were Singapore, THB837.941 billion; the United Kingdom, THB47.15 billion; Japan, THB22.593 billion; China, THB17.327 billion; Hong Kong, THB16.097 billion; Taiwan, THB14.679 billion; the United States, THB1.282 billion; the Netherlands, THB915 million; Malaysia, THB625 million; and Sweden, THB352 million.

By area, most investment was in the Central region, worth THB831.531 billion from 237 projects, followed by the Eastern region at THB149.994 billion, the South at THB7.395 billion, the West at THB5.978 billion, the North at THB5.279 billion and the Northeast at THB5.078 billion.

Applications for promotion under the Smart and Sustainable Industry upgrading measures, which involve investment to improve existing businesses and make them more efficient, also continued to attract interest.

In the first quarter of 2026, there were 61 applications worth THB7.071 billion, mostly involving investment in energy saving, renewable energy use, machinery replacement, the adoption of automation and robotics in businesses, and the use of digital technology to improve efficiency.

For investment promotion approvals, 649 projects were approved in the first quarter of 2026, with a total investment of THB330.132 billion.

The benefits of these approved projects are expected to include the use of more than THB200 billion a year in domestic raw materials, employment of more than 42,000 Thai workers and an increase of more than THB520 billion a year in the country’s export value.

The issuance of promotion certificates, the step closest to actual investment, covered 738 projects with a total investment of THB382.954 billion.

“The first-quarter value of applications for investment promotion, at more than THB1 trillion, is a clear signal that Thailand is changing the game from a traditional production base to a base for the industries of the future, especially the digital and AI supply chains that have become core pillars of the global economy. Amid a challenging global situation, Thailand has proved that it is ready to accommodate investment from around the world, especially in high-technology groups. Thailand has strengths in infrastructure, a stable electricity system, clean-energy potential, high-quality personnel, a strong supply chain, government support measures and its status as a country not caught up in geopolitical conflicts. The BOI will continue to work proactively to establish Thailand as the region’s investment hub and create new industries that will serve as a foundation for growth and valuable jobs for Thai people in the future,” Narit said.