Chinese investments in Thailand for the past eight months have surpassed Japanese Investments for the first time in history
After the Board of Investment adjusted its foreign direct investment promotional incentives BoI secretary-general Mrs Hirunya Sujinai explained Chinese investments were higher than Japanese investments for the first time because several Singaporean projects were Chinese-funded.
Altogether 332 projects worth 50,267 million baht applied for promotional privileges during the first eight months of this year.
Of these, 51 projects worth 13,100 million baht came from Singaporean investors; 37 projects worth 10,000 million baht came from Chinese investors and 92 projects worth 9,900 million baht came from Japanese investors.
After investigating the sources of investment funds, the agency found that many Chinese companies invested in Thailand via Singapore, so it considered China to be the largest foreign investor for the country this year.
Of the total investments during the first eight months, 39.5 percent were investments on alternative energy development, especially solar energy.