Cabinet asked to cut red tape to woo foreign investment in 3 areas
The Department of Business Development will ask the Cabinet to remove restrictions on three business types so that foreign firms no longer have to apply for investment permits from the Commerce Ministry.
The three types fall under the Foreign Business Act’s “List Three” – areas where Thai nationals are not ready to compete with foreigners, said the department’s director-general Tossapon Tangsubut.
The first area is Type 1 telecom licence services provided via another telecom operators' network.
The second are treasury centres for managing foreign currencies for businesses and affiliates in the same group.
The third is software development related to Big Data, cyber security, advanced technology, business process management and industrial production.
All three business types already have related agencies where foreign investors could apply for permits without the need to ask the Commerce Ministry, said Tossapon. This would cut redundancy in the process and improve the business investment environment, he added.
The department has already withdrawn several business types from List Three in a bid to woo more foreign investment.
