Thailand investment applications hit 756 billion baht worth of projects in 2019. Reportedly, the amount slightly surpassed the target, which was 750 billion baht.
Accordingly, the investment applications in Thailand are down 16% from the previous year. 2018 investment recorded 902 billion baht worth of applications and projects.
In 2019, there were a total of 1.624 projects coming from both Thai and foreign firms. Among them, approximately 445 billion baht was for the Eastern Economic Corridor, government-planned area for hi-tech industries in the country.
Considering the investment, China became the biggest foreign investor for the country, beating Japan for the first time in forever. According to Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, the reason was due to the relocation of Chinese firms suffering from the US-China trade war.
“That’s because costs in China are higher,” he explained. In addition, he also disclosed China’s planned projects that were worth 260 billion baht, defeating Japan’s 73 billion baht.
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Thailand Investment Supporting Human Resource Developments and Educations
Thailand recently launched the economic vision, known as Thailand 4.0, to support the Eastern Economic Corridor. The project covers three provinces outside Bangkok, acting as a future digital hub of Southeast Asia.
In order to meet the vision, the country requires roughly 475.000 new jobs by 2023 in the region. Among them, bachelor’s degrees and above, as well as vocational-skilled workers are the utmost priority.
To do that, the government merged four government departments into a new Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovations. Working closely in the educational field, the ministry aims to increase research and human resource development by working closely with Thai and foreign firms.
The Board of Investment (BOI) also offers additional tax incentives to companies who participate in cultivating human resources. Particularly, companies investing in educational and vocational STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs will acquire five years worth of income tax exemption.
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