Despite the ongoing political conflicts, many companies applied for incentives from the Board of Investment (BoI) last year, forging ahead with their investment plans.
The BoI recorded a 20% higher-than-expected investment applications last year but there is a concern that the political unrest that has begun late last year would cause investors to think twice, especially those who had applied for the privileges before the rallies began.
However, most of them are still committed to investing here.
Nikon (Thailand) Co, a maker of cameras, lenses and optical products, received promotional incentives after already investing 1.2 billion baht for their post-2011 flood recovery and expansion at their plant in Ayutthaya.
Assistant general manager Orapin Adisornsuphawat said the company has not seen any impact from the political conflict on its investment here.
The same goes for Mektek Manufacturing Corporation (Thailand), a maker of electronic components, investing 4.6 billion baht approved by the BoI.
Nissan Motor Thailand Co already invested 15 billion baht to expand, and their application for incentives was approved by the BoI, said Prapat Cheoychom, the senior vice-president for marketing and sales.There were 82 large-scale project applications worth at least 1 billion baht the BoI approved from January-November 2013.
The BoI committee disbanded when parliament was dissolved, so no new incentives can be approved until a new committee is appointed, which is unlikely any time soon due to the political conflict.