Photo courtesy of ASEAN Briefing

All they need is the green light. Over 30 companies are poised to invest over $5 billion in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor when the government approves a new package of incentives and privileges later this month, according to officials.

“At least 30 companies set to invest 210 billion baht ($5.77 billion) and create 1,500 jobs are awaiting Cabinet approval of the new promotional privileges,” said Chula Sukmanop, Secretary General of the Eastern Economic Corridor Office of Thailand (EECO).

The Corridor is a three-province advanced development zone adjacent to Bangkok that has emerged as the premier and preferred location for investors. It is home to many of the high-technology and green industries that Thai policymakers are prioritizing as key to lifting the Kingdom to a new level of economic competitiveness.

They include next-generation automotive, intelligent electronics, advanced agriculture and biotechnology, food for the future, high-value and medical tourism, automation and robotics, aviation and logistics, medical and comprehensive healthcare, biofuel and biochemical, digital defense, education, and human resource development.

The government has previously issued generous packages of incentives, privileges and promotions to entice businesses and investors to set up shop in the Corridor, also referred to as the EEC.

Those incentives have been working. During the first five months of 2024, 317 foreign companies received approval to invest in Thailand. Foreign investment totaled $1.9 billion, up 58 percent in value and 16 percent in volume from the same period in 2023.

Of those foreign firms, 99 or 31 percent expressed interest in investing in the EEC. Their foreign investment value was $500 million, equivalent to 25 percent of the total value of foreign investment approved.