BOI: New FDI projects seeking approvals soar in 2012

BANGKOK, August 28 (TNA) - The Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) says that value of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects seeking its promotional privileges in the first seven months of this year exceeded 330 billion baht, with the lion’s share still coming from Japan. BOI Secretary-General Atchaka Sribunruang told journalists on Tuesday that there had been 829 proposed FDI projects, worth 332.2 billion baht, in the January-July 2012 period, a surge by 62 per cent year-on-year in value. Atchaka said that of the new applications, 71 per cent of them, or 585 projects, were the expansion of existing businesses in the Thai economy and 244 others were new projects, and that some new proposed projects were aimed at expanding production even after rehabilitation from the country's massive flooding late last year. The BOI chief acknowledged the planned investment increase in Thailand should show that foreign investors have confidence in the Thai economy, pointing out that the newly-proposed investment projects were in all Thai industries. (TNA)