InfoQuest (August 10, 2021) - According to Ms. Duangjai Asawachintachit, Secretary General of the Office of the Board of Investment, BOI received 801 new applications from January to June, up 14 percent from last year, with an investment amount of 386.200 billion baht, up 158 percent year-on-year. Among them, 198 are large-scale projects in the power sector, with an investment amount of 120.814 billion baht.
The top five sectors receiving investment inflows are the electrical and electronic sector (60.97 billion baht), the medical sector (43.04 billion baht), the petrochemical sector (28.16 billion baht), the agricultural products and food processing sector (23.17 billion baht) and the biotechnology sector (20.72 billion baht).
The growth rate of the biotechnology sector was as high as 850 percent, an increase of 9.5 times from last year, as a result of the strong investment of US groups in the production of polylactic acid, as well as the 3.3 times of investment in the medical sector.
There were 403 foreign direct investment (FDI) applications, with a total investment of 278.658 billion baht, 3.8 times higher than that of last year. The FDI into Thailand in the first half of this year surged by 62 percent from 171.16 billion baht last year. The top three investors are Japan (42.773 billion baht), the United States (24.131 billion baht) and China (18.615 billion baht).
The Eastern Economic Corridor attracted 232 applications worth 126.64 billion baht, and the top three investment destinations are Rayong Province (64.35 billion baht), Chonburi Province (40.86 billion baht) and Chachoengsao Province (21.43 billion baht). The remaining 20 provinces with lower per capita income attracted 5.81 billion baht of investment funds, up 132 percent compared with the same period last year. Industrial parks or industrial zones attracted 184.84 billion baht of investment funds, up 133 percent year-on-year.
In the first half of this year, investors of 83 projects, with an investment of 12.27 billion baht, adopted various measures to improve their production efficiency. Small and medium-sized enterprises entitled to investment promotion measures attracted 1.52 billion baht of investment funds, up 16 percent year-on-year.
Source: InfoQuest, by Kasomaporn Kittiphan/Ratchada KongKhunThian, translated by Xinhua Silk Road
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