BANGKOK, June 16 (Xinhua) — Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said Tuesday that he had already instructed the Board of Investment (BoI) to redesign incentive packages to lure businesses and manufacturers to relocate their factories in Thailand.
“The global economy is expected to fall in the next year or two in the fallout of COVID-19 pandemic, which had serious implications to Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) worldwide,” said Somkid.
But investors from China, Japan, China’s Hong Kong and China’s Taiwan are showing interests in Thailand, he added.
Investors from the aforementioned economies have shown interests in relocating to new locations that could support their types of businesses, including food, processing of farm products, logistics and manufacturing of metal equipment, he said.
Meanwhile, Duangjai Asawachintachit, BoI secretary-general, said the office has yet to set a target for FDI this year due to the impact of COVID-19.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has estimated that the fallout of the virus will bring worldwide FDI down by 30 to 40 per cent this year, Duangjai said.
“Whether Thailand can do better than the global average will depend on new incentives to promote factory relocation, which will draw in FDI in the second half of the year,” she added.
