Investment applications rise 70% to 364.4 billion baht

Editorial Staff

Investment applications rise 70% to 364.4 billion baht in Jan-June on rising foreign direct investment in electronics, food processing, and EV

Board of Investment (BOI) reported that applications for investment promotion in the first half of 2023 increased by 70% on year in value to a combined 364.4 billion baht (US$ 10.3 billion), led by foreign direct investments (FDI) which soared 141% as global companies continue to favor Thailand as a manufacturing base in targeted industries.

In the January-June period, project applications also increased to 891 projects, up 18% compared to the same period of 2022. Of that total, 464 projects were in the targeted industries, representing a combined value of 286.9 billion baht, or 79% of all applications.

The number of FDI applications increased 33% to 507 projects during the first 6 months, while the total investment value of the FDI projects soared to 304 billion baht, an increase of 141% from the year earlier period. China was the largest source of FDI applications with total investment pledges of 61.5 billion baht for 132 projects, mostly in electronics parts manufacturing.

Singapore came in second with 73 projects representing combined investments of 59.11 billion baht, while Japan ranked third with 98 projects worth 35.33 billion baht in investments. The value of the Japanese applications was more than double the 16.79 billion baht filed in the first half of 2022, mainly due to large electronic components and automotive parts projects.

Mr. Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary general of the BOI

“The investment applications in the first half show a very positive trend and foreign investment in particular continued to increase at a very high rate, especially in electronics and EV, which are among our priority sectors,” Mr. Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary general of the BOI. “This reflects the confidence of foreign investors toward Thailand in regards to our fundamentals, well-developed infrastructures, and our strong supply chain.”

Thailand’s strong fundamentals include improving forecast for economic growth and the recent announcement by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) that Thailand's competitiveness ranking for 2023 has improved by three positions, to 30th, out of the 64 economies from around the world ranked by the IMD.

The electrical appliances and electronics (E&E) industry received the highest amount of investment and led the sectors ranking with 106 projects.,

The agro-industry and food processing sector came second with 139 projects worth a combined value of 51.3 billion baht.

In the past 6 months, the automotive and parts industry saw 80 investment applications worth a total of 19.6 billion baht, with most projects involving the production of parts such as tires, axles, hybrid transmission system and electric charging stations for EV.

Under the end-to-end EV promotion policy of the Thai government, and the comprehensive incentives offered by the BOI for this priority sector, so far, 14 battery electric vehicle (BEV) manufacturers have been granted investment promotion benefits for projects worth a combined investment value of 33.9 billion baht, representing an annual production capacity of 276,640 units.

In terms of the geographical distribution of the investment applications during the first six months, Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) area saw a total of 306 project applications representing 171.47 billion baht in investment value, or 47% of the total application value during the period. Most applications located in the EEC area were for projects in the E&E, petrochemicals and automotive sectors. The country’s central region followed in second with 362 projects worth 75.19 billion baht in investment.