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Thailand’s investment pledges slump in H1 as foreign projects wane
INVESTMENT applications in Thailand dropped by 42 per cent in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period last year, official data showed on Wednesday (Aug 17), led by a sharp fall in foreign projects as the global economy slowed.
Foreign investments, which made up 60 per cent of the overall 220 billion baht (S$8.6 billion) of applications in January-June, more than halved year-on-year, data from the Board of Investment (BOI) showed.
But a surge in electric vehicle (EV) and digital investments bucked the trend, and the BOI said on Wednesday it had approved several new major investment pledges.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and adjust our policies and incentives to ensure Thailand remains the resilient destination of choice for global investors in fast growing sectors such as electric vehicles,” BOI said in a statement.
The South-east Asian country has promoted high-tech sectors and supported EVs to maintain its status as a regional auto production base.
In January-June, investment pledges in EVs surged 212 per cent from a year earlier to 42.4 billion baht while ones in the digital sector jumped 202 per cent to 1.45 billion baht, the BOI said.
On Wednesday, the BOI approved investment pledges worth 44.5 billion baht – including China’s BYD’s 17.9 billion baht project to produce EVs, and PTT’s 18 billion baht gas production project, the agency said. REUTERS