Foreign firms bring THB45bn to Thailand, down 18% y-o-y
The number of foreign companies setting up operations in Thailand in the first five months of 2023 grew 16% year-on-year but investment dropped 18%, according to the Commerce Ministry on Tuesday.
Some 274 foreign investors were granted permission under the Foreign Business Act to set up in Thailand from January to May, said the ministry’s Department of Business Development (DBD) director-general Thosapone Dansuputra. They invested a total of 45.39 billion baht and created 2,999 jobs.
The top three countries with highest investment were Japan, with 63 projects worth 15.87 billion baht, followed by the US (48 projects, 2.45 billion baht) and Singapore (46 projects, 6.35 billion baht).
Thosapone said the influx of foreign firms boosted knowledge and technology transfer, especially in fields related to government mega projects and infrastructure such as oil well control, electrical system design for trains, and wind energy.
He said 48 of the new foreign companies set up operations in the Eastern Economic Corridor. They account for 9.44 billion or 21% of the total foreign investment this year.
Most of these companies are from Japan, China and Hong Kong, and are in the fields of production management consulting services, technical, and engineering services, he added.
