Bangkok, BOI reveals investment promotion applications continue to grow in 2023 with 2,307 projects, investment of over 840 billion baht, the highest in 5 years, led by the electrical appliance and electronics industry. Automotive and parts Agriculture and Food in 2024 has approved major projects totaling more than 29 billion baht, moving forward to attract investment from around the world with 5 main plans. Mr. Narit Theodsatheerasak Secretary-General of the Board of Investment (BOI) revealed that the meeting of the Board of Investment (BOI Board) chaired by Mr. Panpree Phitthanukorn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, received the investment promotion report in 2023, which grew continuously and was higher than the previous year. Both in terms of the number of projects and investments, in 2023 there were 2,307 projects requesting promotion, an increase of 16 percent from the previous year, with an investment value of 848,318 million baht, the highest in 5 years, an increase of 43 percen t from the previous year due to the situation of division. The polarization between different countries makes leading companies look for new investment locations that are stable, ready and not in conflict. Thailand is a country with potential and good fundamentals. It can answer the problem of being an outstanding source of investment in the region. In addition, the Thai government has a policy of opening the country to receive major investment. Including the announcement of various investment promotion measures under the BOI's 5-year strategy, which aims to restructure the Thai economy towards The 'new economy' helps attract more investment in Thailand. As for the industry group with the highest investment value, the top 5 are electrical appliances and electronics at 342,149 million baht, followed by: Automotive vehicles and parts 82,282 million baht, agriculture and food 74,416 million baht, petrochemicals and chemicals 45,951 million baht, and biotechnology 31,814 million baht, with investment in electric al appliances and electronics expanding significantly. The number of projects increased by 62 percent and the investment value increased 3.5 times from the previous year. This is due to large investments in the production of smart electrical appliances. electronic components hard disk drive Testing wafers and printed circuit boards Including the business of producing printed circuit boards for more than 20 major projects, both PCB and PCBA, which are the heart of electronic devices. And it is a basic industry for expansion into other industries, whether it be electric vehicles, telecommunications, medical equipment. Smart appliances, digital and automation For investment in the automotive industry Led by major Chinese automakers like Changan Ion and Photon. As for foreign direct investment (FDI), there were 1,394 projects applying for promotion, an increase of 38 percent, with a total investment value of 663,239 million baht, an increase of 72 percent, with the top 3 countries with the highest application va lues ??for promotion. Including China at 159,387 million baht, Singapore at 123,385 million baht and the United States at 83,954 million baht. For Japan, the value was 79,151 million baht, the 4th highest, but with an expansion rate of up to 60 percent from the previous year. In addition, requesting promotion according to measures to upgrade the industry (Smart and Sustainable Industry) in 2023 has a total of 437 projects requesting promotion with a total investment of 29,379 million baht, most of which are investments in energy saving and renewable energy, followed by In terms of modifying machinery and introducing automation into the production line. Meanwhile, applications for investment promotion from SMEs totaled 943 projects with investment amounts of 36,010 million baht. For investment promotion approval in 2023, there are 2,383 projects with a total investment of 750,129 million baht. The benefits of these projects It is expected that the country's export value will increase by approximately 2.44 tr illion baht/year. Domestic raw materials are used approximately 1.67 trillion baht/year. and approximately 139,000 Thai jobs were created in the issuance of promotion certificates. which is the step that is closest to real investment, has also increased significantly Promotion certificates were issued for 1,825 projects, an increase of 22 percent. Total investment was 490,786 million baht, an increase of 6 percent. In addition, the BOI board has approved investment promotion for 4 large projects with a total value of 29,702 million baht, including 1) Next DC Company Limited, the number 1 provider of hyperscale data center services in Australia. Invested in a Data Center project worth 13,759 million baht, located in Bangkok. It will provide Data Center services with the highest Tier 4 standards, supporting users or organizations that require a digital infrastructure with the highest level of stability and reliability. Including Cloud Service providers in the form of Enterprise Cloud that provide services bot h domestically and abroad. 2) CTRLS Company Data Center (Thailand) Co., Ltd. or CtrlS Datacenters, the number 1 hyperscale data center service provider in India, invests in the Data Center project worth 5,044 million baht, located in the Digital Industry and Innovation Promotion Zone (EECd), Chonburi Province. It will provide Data Center services with the highest Tier 4 standards, supporting high-speed data delivery and fast response rates (Low Latency) to meet the needs of business groups located in the EEC area. 3) Sing Company Ta Steel Cord (Thailand) Co., Ltd., project to produce steel wire for industry such as Steel Cord, Bead Wire, Steel Wire, etc., used for strengthening car and truck tires, Radial Tire type, investment value 6,661 million baht, located in the garden. Rojana Industry Chonburi Province 4) TPI Polene Power Public Company Limited, steam production project with investment value of 4,238 million baht in Saraburi Province. This project will produce steam using waste-derived fuel (RDF) and supply it to a power plant and a cement production plant. 'This approved project It is an important investment project. and reinforces foreign investors' confidence in Thailand's potential. Especially two large data center projects from Australia and India. This is an activity that is very important to the development of the digital economy. For a project to produce steel wire used with automobile tires. It will help strengthen the automotive industry's supply chain. As for the steam production project using fuel from waste It will help reduce the problem of waste in the country. according to sustainable development guidelines,' Mr. Narit said. In 2024, the BOI has set an operational plan to focus on missions in 5 important areas: 1) Continue to attract aggressive investment in 5 target industries: BCG, electric vehicles (EV), electronics, digital, and regional office operations. Targeting investors in target countries such as Japan, China, South Korea, the United States, and Europe, this year the BOI plan s to open three additional offices in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Chengdu, China, and Singapore. These are all important target countries for attracting investment to Thailand. 2) Improving the environment for doing business. To create the ability to attract investment, such as pushing for a mechanism to procure electricity from clean energy. Supporting FTA negotiations with key trading partners Preparing personnel for target industries and upgrading government services. 3) Attracting highly skilled personnel from abroad (Talent) to live and work in Thailand through the Long-term Resident Visa (LTR Visa) measure and improving the One Stop Service center for visas. and work permits 4) Links for Thai entrepreneurs to enter the supply chain in target industries Especially in new industries such as EV and printed circuit boards (PCBs), which are becoming large industrial clusters in Thailand. By pushing entrepreneurs, especially SMEs, to enter the supply chain as much as possible. 5) Upgrading entrepreneurs to a ne w era industry that is competitive and environmentally friendly (Smart and Sustainable Industry) such as promoting the modification of machinery to use energy-saving machinery. Use renewable energy or use automation and robots or using digital technology to increase efficiency, etc. 'BOI views that 2024 will be a golden year for investment. There will be large projects deciding to invest continuously. Especially in target industries including automotive, electronics, digital, bio-industry and renewable energy. for automotive In addition to attracting investment from new EV manufacturers, including production of batteries and key parts, It is also expected that there will be an expansion of investment by existing car entrepreneurs who will come to apply for promotion according to the newly released measures to upgrade the automotive industry. To support the transition to modern technology aimed at cleanliness. Energy saving, safety and intelligent driving as well,' Mr. Narit said. Source: Thai News Agency