Int'l investment projects seeking Thailand's promotional privileges peak in 2014

BANGKOK, January 27 (TNA) - The Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) reports that international investment projects seeking its approvals of promotional privileges exceeded two trillion baht last year and peaked in nearly five decades. BOI Acting Secretary-General Hirunya Suchinai told journalists of the information on Tuesday, saying that the international projects seeking BOI's promotional privileges in 2014 stood at 3,469 with their combined investment fund of about 2.19 trillion baht. Hirunya stated that the number of investment projects seeking BOI's promotional privileges last year rose by 73 per cent year-on-year and their value soared by 117 year-on-year, with the most common group of the projects concerning services and infrastructure, followed by the group of chemical and plastic products and paper and the group of automobiles and parts and machinery. In December 2014 alone, Hirunya noted, there were 2,092 international investment projects seeking BOI's promotional privileges with their combined investment of 1.43 tillion baht and most projects dealing with business expansion proposed before new rules of promotional privileges took effect on January 1, 2015. Hirunya pointed out that the number of investment projects seeking promotional privileges soared in December because most investors already had business expansion plans and did not want to lose some privileges under BOI's new policies. According to the acting BOI chief, this year BOI prefers international investment projects that develop the Thai economy and industries, research, development and product design and focuses more on the values of investment projects than their number and investment figures. Besides, BOI has identified targets in its overseas road shows to match its new policies, including research and development firms and advance electronic companies. (TNA)