Thailand expects to secure investment applications worth at least US$28.8 billion this year, the government said on Monday (Jan 13), as it seeks to attract more investors to help boost Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.
By 2024, investment applications rose 35 percent annually to 1.14 trillion baht ($45.01 billion), a 10-year high, led by foreign investment in data centers and cloud services, the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) said.
Investors still see Thailand as a safe and suitable place for long-term investment, BOI Secretary General Narit Therdsteerasukdi told a news conference.
“Investment still has a good direction this year… There will be more investment this year,” he said.
Investment pledges are expected to exceed 5 trillion baht in a five-year plan starting in 2023, beating an original target of 3 trillion, Narit said.
Companies have moved factories from China to Southeast Asia, in anticipation of President-elect Donald Trump slapping heavy tariffs on Beijing.
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By 2024, foreign investment pledges rose 25 percent year-on-year to 832 billion baht, the BOI said.
Singapore was the top source of FDI with 305 projects, mostly in digital services and electronics manufacturing, with an investment value of 357.5 billion baht, or 43 percent of total FDI, the BOI said.
China was the second largest source of foreign direct investment with 810 projects worth 174.6 billion baht, led by companies manufacturing printed circuit boards, vehicles and metal products.
Narit said the government would introduce qualified refundable tax credits to ease the impact of a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15 percent on multinational companies, which came into effect on January 1.
The global tax could affect about 1,000 companies but not all would have to pay extra tax, he said.
“We have to look at the details to see how much they are paying,” he added.
Thailand’s corporate tax rate is currently set at 20 percent, but companies receiving BOI incentives can receive an exemption of up to 13 years. Reuters
