Nearly 40 foreign investment projects approved in early 2015

BANGKOK, January 22 (TNA) - Commerce authorities have approved 37 new foreign investment projects in Thailand in January 2015. Pongpun Gearaviriyapun, Director-General of the Thai Ministry of Commerce's Department of Business Development, told journalists on Thursday that the Foreign Business Committee approved the 37 new foreign investment projects on January 20. Pongpun, in her capacity as Secretary of the Foreign Business Committee, said that combined capital of the 37 newly-approved foreign investment projects, which will employ about 266 Thai workers, stands at about 1.67 billion baht. Of the 37 projects, the senior official noted, 27 foreigners sought investment permission in Thailand for the first time, 21 projects concern services for affiliates and trading partners with their combined capital of 1.56 billion baht. The senior official stated that nine projects with their combined capital of about 28 million baht concern representatives' offices of business operators from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Singapore; while three projects with their combined capital of about 29 million baht concern retail businesses from France, Austria and Japan and two projects with their combined capital of about 9 million baht concern wholesale from Australia and China, one project is for German brokerage and another project belongs to a contract partner of the Chinese government with 25 million baht capital. According to the senior official, the newly-approved projects come from Japan, Hong Kong, Denmark, the Netherland, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Myanmar and Malaysia. In January 2015, the number of approved foreign investment projects, however, drops by 10 projects or 21 per cent and combined capital falls by 1.26 billion baht or 43 per cent from figures in the previous month; while the year-on-year number of approved projects declines by one or 3 per cent, but their combined capital rises by 926 million baht or 125 per cent. (TNA)