BANGKOK, March 26 –The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) has been assigned to set up industrial estates in four regions of the country as production bases for small- and medium-sized enterprises, both Thai and from overseas, according to Industry Minister Prasert Boonchaisuk.
He said the IEAT must find four plots of land, each at 500 rai (200 acres), in the North, Northeast, Central and Southern regions for industrial estates, given foreign investors’ interest in expanding their business and manufacturing bases in the kingdom.
It is forecast that the value of foreign companies’ applications for investment privileges in Thailand will reach Bt700 billion this year, he said.
Board of Investment (BoI) Secretary General Udom Wongviwatchai said foreign direct investment (FDI) in Thailand, reported at Bt83.8 billion in the first two months of this year, could reach Bt130 billion in Q1.
He said half of the direct foreign investors were Japanese in the auto industry who plan to expand auto production to three million units.
Malaysia has invested more in Thailand this year in the aviation and agro industry businesses, followed by South Korea and Taiwan, he said.
He indicated that foreign companies have been interested in investing in Thailand thanks to the country’s strength as the geographical centre of Southeast Asian region.
