Thailand BOI spills the tea: Big bucks pouring in with mega investments
Thailand’s Investment Scene is lit AF, with the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) flexing hard on some jaw-dropping deets about 2023’s investment game. Brace yourselves, peeps, ’cause the numbers are cray.
So, here’s the tea: investment applications for 2023 surged by a whopping 43%, clocking in at a sick $24 billion (848.3 billion baht, if you wanna keep it classy). And guess what? Most of that cash money came from big-time foreign investors, especially in the five priority sectors that the BOI is vibing with Right Now (RN).
Apparently, everyone’s moving shop to Thailand ’cause it’s the place to be – safe, resilient, and ready to make it rain cash for those smart enough to invest. Plus, with Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin leading the charge on investment roadshows, it’s like, major confidence boost for all the big shots eyeing Thailand for their next money moves.
And hold up, ’cause it gets even juicier for 2024. Thailand’s economy is set to pop off, thanks to more exports, tourism, and, you guessed it, even more investments rolling in. It’s like a never-ending party in the land of smiles.
At a recent BOI pow-wow chaired by H.E. Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, they gave the green light to four mega investment projects worth nearly 30 billion baht. We’re talking data centres, steel wire for tires, and steam production for industries – all in the mix.
Now, let’s break it down: the BOI got swarmed with over 2,300 project applications in 2023, a solid 16% jump from the year before. And get this, over half of those were all about those top-priority sectors, like Bio-Circular-Green vibes and electric vehicles.
Foreign players were straight-up thirsty for a piece of the Thai pie, filing over 1,300 applications, and dropping a cool 663.24 million baht on the table. China led the pack, followed by Singapore, the US, Japan, and Taiwan – all hungry for a slice of the Thai investment action.
And where’s all this happening, you ask? Well, mostly in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), where all the industrial magic goes down. Chonburi, Rayong, and Chachoengsao provinces are where it’s at, accounting for over half of the investment pledges. Central Thailand ain’t slacking either, pulling in around 31% of the investment dough.
But wait, there’s more. BOI’s giving thumbs up to some dope projects, like NextDC’s sick new data centre in Bangkok, CtrlS Datacentres’ flex in Chonburi, Xingda Steel Cord’s steel wire factory in Chonburi, and TPI Polene Power’s steam production setup in Saraburi. It’s like a game of Monopoly, but with real-life stacks of cash.
So, there you have it, fam – Thailand’s investment scene is poppin’ off like never before, and everyone’s invited to the party. Get ready to see some major bankrolls rollin’ in ’cause Thailand’s the place where dreams (and investments) come true.