The Board of Investment (BoI) plans to set up a business intelligence data system to support business matching between local and foreign small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Sonklin Ploymee, director of the BoI Unit for Industrial Linkage Development (Build), said foreign investors had often complained there was no comprehensive information about Thai SMEs, especially those in car and electronics clusters.
The database will enable investors, especially from Japan, China and Australia, to find SME partners here.
Build has successfully conducted several programmes to assist foreign assemblers and manufacturers with sourcing high-quality parts and components from Thai SMEs.
These programmes, in turn, strengthen supporting industries and boost Thailand's industrial competitiveness.
Mrs Sonklin expects more investors will enter the country in 2015 to exploit greater opportunities from the opening of the Asean Economic Community.
SMEs from Japan and Australia have to move their investment bases to Asean members including Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, she said.
Mrs Sonklin believes automotive and electronics clusters will attract foreign investors next year.
The agency will also promote business matching between foreign and local investors in industries such as medical equipment, food and plastics.
In the fiscal year that ended Sept 30, 2013, Build helped to manage 3,826 business matches, creating more than 7 billion baht in business value.
The BoI next May will organise Subcon Thailand, Asean's largest international industrial subcontracting event, to facilitate business matching and create 50 billion baht in business value.