BOI reveals first half investment surges to 450 billion, accelerates roadshow to attract foreign investment

Bangkok,, BOI reveals that investment promotion applications in the first 6 months of 2024 continued to grow, both in number of projects and investment, with 1,412 projects worth 458,359 million baht, an increase of 35 percent, led by 3 target industry groups: electronics and electrical appliances, automotive and parts, agriculture and food processing. Meanwhile, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Singapore ranked first, followed by China and Hong Kong. In the second half of the year, the roadshow plan will be accelerated to compete for investment in regional hubs, along with adjusting the production structure to increase competitive potential. Mr. Narit Therdsteerasakdi, Secretary-General of the Board of Investment (BOI), revealed that the investment direction in Thailand has a good trend and continuous growth. In the first 6 months of this year (January-June 2024), investment promotion increased in every step, including requesting promotion, approval of promotion, issuing promotion cards, and increasing bo th the number of projects and investment. The number of investment promotion requests in the first half of 2024 was 1,412 projects, an increase of 64 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. The total investment value was 458,359 million baht, an increase of 35 percent, reflecting Thailand's potential and good fundamentals, investors' confidence in government policies, and the results of investment promotion measures by the BOI and government agencies. The top 5 target industries with the highest investment value are electronics and electrical appliances at 139,725 million baht, followed by automotive and parts at 39,883 million baht, agriculture and food processing at 33,121 million baht, petrochemicals and chemicals at 25,344 million baht, and digital at 25,112 million baht, respectively. Investments are being made in future industries that are important to economic restructuring, such as: - Advanced electronics manufacturing businesses, including wafer manufacturing, electronic design, s emiconductor and integrated circuit assembly and testing: 10 projects, total investment of 19,543 million baht - Printed Circuit Board (PCB) manufacturing businesses: 31 projects, total investment of 39,732 million baht - Smart electronic device manufacturing businesses and 8 smart electrical appliance projects, total investment of 38,182 million baht - Data Center business, 3 projects, total investment of 24,289 million baht - Machinery, equipment or automation system manufacturing business, 69 projects, total investment of 10,271 million baht - Electricity production business from renewable energy or waste, 255 projects, total investment of 72,475 million baht In addition, there are some businesses that do not have a high investment but have a significant impact on the development of the country's competitiveness because they are knowledge-based businesses and businesses that support international trade and investment, such as: - Software development business, digital service platforms or digital con tent, 59 projects, total investment of 812 million baht - Business supporting science and technology development, including research and development, biotechnology development, engineering design, scientific testing services and calibration services, 13 projects, total investment of 805 million baht - Smart Farming business, 3 projects, total investment of 56 million baht - Modern distribution center business, 11 projects, investment of 2,327 million baht - International Business Center (IBC) business, 19 projects, total investment of 274 million baht - International raw material and parts procurement center (IPO) business, 16 projects, total investment of 728 million baht Foreign direct investment (FDI) continues to expand. There were 889 projects applying for promotion, an increase of 83 percent, with a total investment of 325,736 million baht, an increase of 16 percent. The top 5 countries/economic zones with the highest value of applications for promotion were Singapore at 90,996 million baht, China at 72,873 million baht, Hong Kong at 39,553 million baht, Japan at 29,987 million baht, and Taiwan at 29,453 million baht, respectively. The higher value of Singapore's investment was due to large investments by Singaporean companies with Chinese parent companies in the electronics industry. In terms of area, the majority of investment was in the Eastern region at 211,569 million baht, followed by the Central region at 179,332 million baht, the Northern region at 32,972 million baht, the Southern region at 15,694 million baht, the Northeastern region at 14,087 million baht, and the Western region at 4,705 million baht, respectively. For the approval of investment promotion in the first 6 months of this year, there were 1,451 projects, an increase of 37 percent when compared to the same period of the previous year. The total investment was 476,276 million baht, an increase of 27 percent. The benefits of these approved investment promotion projects are expected to increase the value of the country's exports b y more than 1.3 trillion baht/year, mostly in the electronics and electrical appliance industries. In addition, it will increase the use of domestic raw materials by more than 490 billion baht/year and create more than 100,000 Thai jobs. In terms of issuing promotion cards, which is the process closest to actual investment, it has also increased significantly, with 1,332 projects, an increase of 56 percent compared to the same period last year. Total investment is 438,733 million baht, an increase of 87 percent, which will lead to actual investment in the next 1-2 years, resulting in positive effects on the recovery of the Thai economy in the next phase. Mr. Narit added that 'In the second half of the year, global investment trends continue to move investment and adjust supply chains around the world. Therefore, it is an important time for Thailand to compete for investment. The BOI will focus on proactively penetrating target groups and promoting investment in restructuring production to increase Thailand' s competitiveness. The focus will be on 3 important areas: (1) Creating new industrial bases, such as all types of electric vehicles and key components, cell-level batteries, semiconductors and advanced electronics, world-class data centers, biotechnology industries, including promoting Thailand to become a base for regional headquarters and a center for highly skilled personnel (Talent) in the region. Over the next 2 months, the BOI plans to organize roadshows in South Korea, China, India, and Singapore, as well as other proactive activities to continuously attract investment. (2) Linking global industries with domestic supply chains through various activities such as Subcon Thailand, THECA, Sourcing Day, Business Matching, etc. to increase the use of domestic parts, create business opportunities for Thai entrepreneurs, and create cooperation in technology transfer and personnel development. (3) Improving the production efficiency of entrepreneurs, especially Thai SMEs, through measures to upgrade the ind ustry to Smart and Sustainable Industry by promoting the modernization of machinery, introducing automation systems or digital technology into the business, changing to use energy-saving equipment or renewable energy, or upgrading to international standards, which are measures that entrepreneurs are increasingly interested in and are continuously applying for promotion. In the first half of 2024, there were 192 projects applying for this measure, an increase of 35 percent, with a total investment of 19,966 million baht, an increase of 160 percent.' Source: Thai News Agency