436 foreign firms bring 100 billion baht, 4,000-plus jobs to Thailand this year

BANGKOK (The Nation/Asia News Network): As many as 436 foreign companies armed with an investment of just under 100 billion baht have set up operations in Thailand in the first nine months of 2022.

These companies have been allowed to start conducting business in the country under the Foreign Business Act, Deputy Commerce Minister Sinit Lertkrai (pic) said.

“These companies have invested about 99.36 billion baht in Thailand and generated up to 4,041 jobs for local people,” he said, adding that the total investment value has jumped 82 per cent from about 45 billion during the same period last year.

The countries that have brought the most funds to Thailand are Japan (110 firms, 34.97 billion baht), Singapore (71, 11.42 billion baht), the US (61, 3.3 billion baht), Hong Kong (28, 7.78 billion baht), and China (21, 20.75 billion baht).

Sinit said opening the door to foreign companies will help promote knowledge and technology transfer, especially in the areas of preserving energy, generating power for airports, exploring for oil in the Gulf of Thailand, reclaiming land in coastal areas, developing deep sea ports and setting up charging stations for electric vehicles.

He added that of the 436 foreign companies, 80 are investing in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) and have brought 40.55 billion baht to the area. Most of these companies are from Japan, Singapore and the United States.

Businesses in the EEC that have received significant foreign investment include public telecommunication services, reselling of mobile phone services, engineering and machinery services, cloud computing and sensor technology.

The Commerce Ministry expects more foreign firms to enter the country before yearend thanks to the country’s full reopening and measures offered to promote investment, including tax incentives.