BANGKOK (NNT) – Despite a drop in approved foreign companies able to undertake business in Thailand by 23 percent compared to last year, the number of foreign companies investing in Thailand from January to November this year has reached 22.153 billion baht (22,153,000,000), showing a 106 percent growth rate.
The Department of Business Developmen’s Deputy Director General, Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, said the doubling in the number of such foreign investors, was a result of the activities of high investment businesses such as metro projects management, installation and testing services for natural resource exploration, and petroleum extraction.
1,165 foreign investment projects have been processed via the Board of Investment (BOI) over the first nine months of this year, worth 314.13 billion baht (314,130,000,000), which is an 11 percent increase year-on-year. Companies that have received investment promotion from the BOI are exempted from having to process a business operations permit according to the Foreign Business Act.
The Department of Business Development is now working to streamline regulations and facilitate the applications of investors who have filed for investment promotion with the BOI. Currently, foreign businesses which have received business promotion are still required to apply for foreign business certification within 30 days.
The department will be proposing an information sharing scheme which will allow foreign companies to pay fees on the e-Payment system, which will reduce the time required for a foreign business certification application process to only one day.
