Thailand Board Of Investment North America - Your Investment And Business Information Source For Thailand - Board Of Investment Thailand Business Information Asian Investment

BOI Thailand
N O V E M B E R \ D E C E M B E R 2017

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
N E W S F R O M T H A I L A N D
An Update on News Impacting Business in Thailand and the ASEAN Region


	BOI Secretary General, Ms. Duangjai Asawachintachit

2017 has been quite an eventful year for Thailand BOI, and we’re excited to share some updates with you in this final newsletter of the year.

BOI is kicking off the final quarter of the year with some fantastic news – Thailand has moved up 20 ranks to 26th out of 190 economies by the World Bank in the annual Ease of Doing Business report. The ranking reflects how conducive an economy is to creating new businesses, and takes into consideration factors like access to credit, trading across borders, and registering property. Thailand has risen from number 46 and 48 in 2017 and 2016, respectively. We’re really proud of Thailand’s significant improvement in this ranking and look forward to our economy’s continued upward trajectory.

As of October 1, Thailand BOI officially has a new Secretary General, Ms. Duangjai Asawachintachit. Ms. Asawachintachit has served the Thailand Board of Investment for over three decades across different roles including chief of North American and Multilateral Affairs Section, and obtained her MBA in Finance and International Business from Indiana University in 1989. She brings all of her foreign direct investment expertise to the role, and we’re thrilled to introduce her to you as our new Secretary General.

Ms. Asawachintachit’s main priorities for the coming year are to continue to attract foreign direct investment to Thailand by ensuring the continuity of existing effective BOI policies and to continue to gear Thailand towards the innovation based economy of the future as outlined in the ‘Thailand 4.0’ model via investment in technology and human resources development.

We look forward to Ms. Asawachintachit’s leadership and guidance in the coming months and throughout 2018 as we move closer to our investment goals.

Below are some links to recent news about Thailand we hope you’ll find interesting. We look forward to connecting with you soon. All of us at Thailand BOI wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season!

Tanita Sirisup
Director
Thailand Board of Investment, North America
nyc@boi.go.th

THAILAND'S FDI EXPANSION NEWS

	Thailand Sees Strong Growth Next Year as GDP Beats Forecasts Thailand’s economy grew faster than economists estimated last quarter and is on track for a strong year in 2018, underpinned by a pickup in exports and booming tourism. Highlights of the report show GDP rose 4.3 percent from a year ago, compared with the median estimate of 3.9 percent in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
	Thailand Moves up in Global Doing Business Ranks The World Bank Group’s latest Doing Business report ranks Thailand in 26th place among 190 economies in the ease of doing business for small and medium enterprises around the world, up from 48th place when applying the same methodology to last year’s and this year’s data. The report also recognizes Thailand as one of top 10 economies that have improved most in the ease of doing business in the last year worldwide.
	EEC Investment Gets a Boost Under Adjusted Promotional Scheme The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI), in its latest board meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, has extended the application submission period and adjusted investment incentive scheme in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) that helps investors start and expand their investment in the new growth hub with more benefits.
	ABB Inaugurates Robotics Plant to Sharpen Thailand’s Manufacturing Edge Today ABB has officially opened a new facility, ABB Robotics Machine-Tending Limited (RMT), to produce machine-tending robotics, in Rayong Province, Thailand. The opening was attended by Staffan Herrström, Sweden’s ambassador to Thailand, and Sirichote Singsa, who oversees ABB’s Robotics and Motion division in Thailand.
	Ford Thailand Opens Parts Distribution Center Ford Thailand opens a TB100 million ($3 million) parts distribution center in Bangkok to support the company’s sales growth.
	Huawei to Build Cloud Data Center in Eastern Corridor China's Huawei Technologies Co is set to build its leading cloud data centre in Southeast Asia in Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) with an initial budget of US $10 million.
	Thailand Emerges as Southeast Asia’s Prime Destination for Biotechnology Development Biotechnology in Thailand has been through over three decades of development. Today, with its superb infrastructure, substantial scientific capability and strategic location in the center of the Southeast Asia region, Thailand is home to many well-established world tech labs and pharma companies, and is ready to embrace new wave of advanced biotech development.
	Robotics and Automation: Reshaping Economy on Thailand 4.0 Journey Value creation is the key focus in transforming Thailand under the Thailand 4.0 model. In the manufacturing sector, robotics and automation technology plays a key role in creating value -- and that's why it has become a key player in the country's future.
	Thailand’s Digital Economy Promotion Agency to Launch US $3M Startup Fund The value of the Thai digital content industry is on track to reach Bt26.8 billion by the end of next year, said the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA), which is launching two projects to help more than 300 software and digital content companies contribute to this goal.

About BOI

The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) is the investment promotion agency for Thailand that assists foreign investors in identifying business opportunities, providing tax incentives and privileges, and supporting foreign companies seeking to expand into the Asian market. Our services are free of charge and customized to help your business succeed in Thailand.

For more information, please visit www.thinkasiainvestthailand.com