Thailand is promoting its green transformation to US investors
The Board of Investment (BOI) is promoting Thailand’s potential in the green economy to attract US investors, BOI secretary-general Narit Therdsteerasukdi said on Wednesday.
He noted that the board’s first two roadshows this year were held in Seattle and San Francisco last month.
They focused on Thailand’s policy of increasing the use of renewable energy in the industrial sector by 50%, as well as the country’s plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Narit Therdsteerasukdi said.
He said the BOI highlighted the promotion of green technologies – such as carbon capture, utilisation and storage – in three main industries:
1. Electric vehicles: Thailand’s government is the first in the region to provide subsidies for buyers of electric vehicles, which sparked expansion of industries related to electric-vehicle manufacturing and maintenance.
2. Electronics: The government promotes a full spectrum of upstream electronics manufacturing, including wafer fabrication, electronic design, and research and development. Thailand is already the home of several large electronics factories.
3. Digital: Thailand is establishing large-scale digital infrastructure – such as data centres and cloud platforms – and is promoting digital transformation among business operators.
Narit said that the BOI also highlighted the government’s latest long-term resident visa scheme, which benefits foreign investors and executives in target industries who wish to live, work, and buy property in Thailand.
“We chose the US as the first roadshow destination this year as the country is a world leader in digital and electronic industries,” he said.
“We have ensured American investors that Thailand has a strong infrastructure and supply chain to support these industries. We also have various sources of renewable energy and personnel who are trained in the green economy to serve businesses that focus on sustainability,” he said.
During the roadshow Amazon Web Services announced a 190 billion baht investment in Thailand, while Google confirmed it would open its regional office for Google Cloud in Thailand, Narit said.
In 2022, American companies applied for investment promotions with the BOI for 33 projects, most of which were in the digital industry. Their combined investment was 50.29 billion baht, making the country Thailand’s third largest foreign investor last year. China and Japan ranked first and second.
