A total of 317 foreign companies received approval to invest in Thailand under the Foreign Business Act during the first five months of 2024. The foreign investment in the period reached 71,702 million baht, representing an increase of 58 percent in value and 16 percent in volume over the same period of 2023.
Deputy Government Spokesperson Karom Polpornklang stated that, from January to May this year, Japan was the largest group of foreign investors in Thailand, with 84 projects (40,214 million baht). Singapore came second, with 51 projects (5,189 million baht), followed by the United States, 50 projects (1,196 million baht), China, 38 projects (5,485 million baht), and Hong Kong, 28 projects (12,048 million baht).
During this period, 99 foreign investors, accounting for 31 percent of the total foreign investors in Thailand, showed interest in investing in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). The foreign investment value was 18,224 million baht, accounting for 25 percent of the total value of foreign investment during the five-month period.
Among the 99 foreign investors, 31 were from Japan (3,523 million baht), 19 from China (1,803 million baht), 11 from Hong Kong (5,005 million baht), and 38 from other countries (7,893 million baht).
Previously, the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) reported that the value of applications for investment promotion in Thailand in the first quarter of 2024 increased by 31 percent to 228,207 million baht (USD 6.2 billion) over the same period of 2023.
From January to March 2024, domestic and foreign investors filed a total of 724 project applications to BOI, an increase of 94 percent over the same period of last year. Out of this number, 460 projects involved foreign investment.
The Deputy Government Spokesperson said that the upward trend reflects Thailand's potential and investor confidence and that it was a result of the Government’s efforts to attract leading companies worldwide to invest more in Thailand.
The sector that saw the highest value of investment applications in the first quarter was the electronics and electrical appliances industry, followed by automotive and parts, petrochemicals and chemicals, digital, and agriculture and food processing.