BANGKOK, June 13 – Thailand’s Industry Ministry estimated that throughout 2013, there would be investment promotion applications to Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) for at least Bt1 trillion, from the previous target at Bt700 billion.
Industry Minister Prasert Boonchaisuk said such an estimate was projected from investment applications from January to April this year which already reached Bt500 billion.
Last year alone, investor application for promotional investments through BOI exceeded Bt1.47 trillion, growing from Bt700 billion in 2011.
The minister said the higher figure was due to Thai and foreign investors’ confidence in Thailand’s strong fundamentals, the government’s Bt350-billion water management scheme, its infrastructure construction project of Bt2 trillion, as well as the connectivity policy of economic corridors linking roads from Thailand to neighbouring countries.
Regarding the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT)’s progress on area development for industrial purpose, Mr Prasert said there were 28 projects from the private sector applying to set up industrial areas, expected to be complete in 2015, of which 18 projects were of small- and medium-sized enterprises with a total investment budget at Bt21.2 billion, creating 530,000 jobs.
