The Board of Investment (BOI) has agreed to revise measures to encourage investments in the agricultural sector, introducing new types of investments eligible for its assistance, including an agricultural produce digital trading center and an agricultural and food industrial estate. The efforts are anticipated to help Thailand obtain ASEAN’s “Bio Hub” title.
Making the announcement was BOI Secretary-General Duangjai Asawachintachit, following a recent meeting chaired by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha.
She said that support for these two investments is part of the 20-year national goal to promote competitiveness and agricultural growth, notably in the herbal sector. Herbal goods are now facing stiff competition on a global scale.
Duangjai went on to say that the new agricultural produce digital trading center, which is now eligible for BOI aid, aims to boost the local agricultural industry by utilizing technology to satisfy demand. Investors must have a platform for assisting all stakeholders as well as a mechanism for tracking and monitoring the manufacturing process. They must also exclusively participate in business-to-business transactions.
Duangjai expounded on agricultural and food industrial estate investment, stating that investors must be involved in the agricultural, processed agricultural produce, and food industries. The BOI also supports related scientific and technological services, as well as human resource development in this type of investment. The industrial estate must be established on at least 200 rai of land and equipped with food and agriculture laboratories and training centers, as well as a solid infrastructure, in order to link together agriculturalists, businesses, and educational institutes. Those who make one of the two investments are eligible for a 5-year corporate income tax exemption.
Furthermore, she stated that the BOI resolved to modify the investment incentive for herbal product investors, providing an 8-year corporate income tax exemption to those who use sophisticated technology to extract herbal essence for products such as soaps, shampoos, toothpastes, and cosmetics, to name a few. (NNT)
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