Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak. (Photo: Agencies)

Bangkok (People’s Daily) - Thailand’s deputy prime minister revealed the total amount of investment for 2018 reached 901,770 million baht, surpassing previous expectations by 25 percent. EEC investment applications accounted for more than 680,000 million baht. Large-scale investment projects in the petrochemical sector and within electrical vehicle (EV) production developed.   

Following a meeting with the country’s Board of Investment (BOI), Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said investment policies for 2019, that last year BOI received 1,626 investment application projects valued at 901,770 million baht. Both the application number and investment value were higher than 2017 by 3 and 43 percent, respectively. 

Also, application value form 2018 was 25 percent higher than the 720,000 million baht target. As many as 84 percent of the application projects, worth 758,000 million baht, were in targeted industries. Within that amount, 539,000 million baht was invested in five new S-Curve industry sectors, which include digital, medical, biofuels and biochemicals, robotics and automation, and aviation.

219,000 million baht was invested in the first S-Curve industry sectors; namely, agriculture and biotechnology, electrical and electronics, automotive and auto parts, tourism and food processing.   

Duangjai Asawachintachit, BOI’s Secretary General, said that in 2019, BOI will continue to focus on marketing efforts aimed at investments that will create local value and bring in higher technology.  A series of support measures are already in place to attract investment.