BANGKOK, Aug. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Thailand’s investment drive will focus on the country’s three major agendas – national competitiveness, the reduction in income disparity, and sustainability, said Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Somkid Jatusripitak. Speaking after the annual meeting of Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI), with the heads of the 14 overseas offices, the Deputy Prime Minister said that investments are a significant tool to address the national agenda.
“In recent years, our investment promotion activities tended to attract investment in targeted types of business activities,” Dr. Somkid said. “We must not forget that investments are crucial to support national transformation.”From now, we have to make sure that investment promotion activities can also effectively address the three major national agendas – increasing national competitiveness, reducing income and social disparity, and promoting sustainability.”
He cited the development of the bioeconomy as an example. In promoting investment in the bioeconomy, value will be added to the country’s backbone industries. While a bioeconomy would increase national competitiveness, it also generates an income for people and that directly contributes to the reduction of income disparity and points to a long-term sustainable outcome. In terms of environment and resources, the bioeconomy is also focused on environmentally friendly business activities, which contributes to environmental sustainability.Dr. Somkid also advised the BOI to promote an investment ecosystem. He said that to attract entrepreneurial ventures, the country should not only provide investment incentives but also assist other activities that support the development of startups. Education, people training, infrastructure and a supply chain in the related industries should all be developed to help investors ensure success.
The BOI, which regularly reviews and adjusts its policy and direction to address changing economic and business trends and national agendas, also released its foreign investors’ confidence survey for this year.The board’s processes have contributed to a significant improvement in investors’ satisfaction and confidence.
The survey showed that investors’ confidence reached the highest level in five years, with 98.5% of the respondents confirming that they would continue to invest in Thailand. Out of the 600 companies that responded to the survey, 33% said they planned to expand investment, while 65.5% said their investment in Thailand would continue.The top three reasons that boosted their confidence in continuing and expanding their investment in Thailand were given as: the availability of raw materials and parts (54.7%), sufficient suppliers (50.8%) and attractive investment incentives (44.5%).
“From this year’s survey, it was clear that the ecosystem and supporting industries play an important part in investors’ confidence,” said Ms. Duangjai Asawachintachit, Secretary-General to the BOI. “Having extensive resources, parts, raw materials and suppliers is key to this success.
“Realizing this, the government and BOI have been promoting local supporting industries throughout these years. New investment promotion incentives have also been customized and offered in response to rapid technology development and more intense business competition.”Survey respondents also expressed improved satisfaction towards BOI’s level of service, incentives, services and assistance in visa and work permit solutions. They also cited information provided on its website, the services at BOI’s OSOS center, easy access to services and service speed.
