China surpasses Japan to become the largest source of investment in Thailand's BOI

On January 14, according to Thai media reports, Nari, secretary-general of the Thailand Investment Promotion Committee, revealed after attending the Investment Promotion Committee meeting chaired by Prayut Prayuth on January 13 that in 2022, Thailand will attract as much as 664.63 billion baht in investment. , an increase of 39% over the same period in 2021, the highest value since the new crown epidemic, with a total of 2,119 applications, an increase of 41% over the same period in 2021.

In addition, the issuance of BOI investment promotion certificates is also showing a good trend. So far, 1,490 certificates have been issued, a year-on-year increase of 9%, and the investment amount reached 489.09 billion baht, a year-on-year increase of 21%. It is expected that there will be more actual investment in the future. Judging from the overall evaluation results after the license is issued, 90% of investors have already made actual investment, and the other 10% of investors are in the process of investing. There is no withdrawal of capital, which is undoubtedly a positive signal for Thailand.

Applications for investment in 2022 are mainly concentrated in the target industries, namely the electronic and electrical industry of 129.475 billion baht, the automobile and parts industry of 105.371 billion baht, the agriculture and food processing industry of 81.731 billion baht, the petrochemical and chemical industry of 59.762 billion baht, and the digital industry of 49.458 billion baht. In addition, high-investment industries include power generation, especially in the field of renewable energy. At the same time, investment in industrial real estate development and logistics and transportation has also continued to expand, but most investment applications are still concentrated in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) region.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) reached 433.971 billion baht, a year-on-year increase of 36%. Among them, mainland China had the highest investment application amount of 77.381 billion baht, followed by Japan with 50.767 billion baht, the United States with 50.296 billion baht, Taiwan, China with 45.215 billion baht, and Singapore with 44.286 billion baht. billion baht.

Nari pointed out that the substantial increase in the amount of investment applications in 2022 reflects investors' confidence in Thailand's development potential, especially their confidence in Thailand becoming an important regional production and investment base. At present, with countries all over the world competing for investment and the global economy being unstable and slowing down, it is expected that Thailand's investment level will remain no less than 500-600 billion baht in 2023.