BANGKOK, July 9 – In the first half of 2012, investors have sought incentives for 1,057 projects from the Board of Investment with a combined investment value of Bt478.5 billion, an increase of 97 per cent from Bt242 billion recorded last year.
Atchaka Sibunruang, Secretary-General of the Board of Investment, said of industrial investment this year that it is likely to continue growing and that the value of investment projects is expected to surpass the target of Bt630 billion.
The growth resulted from investor confidence in the government’s water management and flood prevention plan, she said.
The number of investment projects in the first half of this year rose 26 per cent to 1,057 from 836 projects last year.
Service and public utility industries recorded most projects of 277 seeking investment privileges with a total investment value of Bt116 billion, followed by 264 projects from the auto, machinery and metal industry sectors with a cumulative investment value of Bt62.5 billion.
Meanwhile, the petrochemical, paper and plastic industries showed the highest amount of investment value at Bt119.5 billion.
Among all 1,057 projects seeking BoI privileges in the first half of this year, 83 projects with investment value of Bt35.7 billion submitted applications for BoI investment promotion as flood-affected entrepreneurs, while 22 projects with investment value of Bt13.6 billion represented new investment in industrial zones, affected by last year’s flood.
