American investors have not been deterred by Thai politics and are ready invest more in the country, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Friday.
Around 70 businessmen from the US-Asean Business Council (USABC) met the Thai premier and ministers at Government House to discuss investments in the country.
The executives were from 29 companies in the IT, energy, financial, logistic, automotive, construction, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, tobacco and alcoholic drinks industries, said Maj Gen Veerachon Sukontapatipak, a deputy spokesman of the Prime Minister's Office, after the meeting.
The prime minister said the Americans did not mind a coup-installed leader and that Thai politics was not an obstacle to their investments.
"I explained to them Thailand's political situation and assured them about our stability and progress, that we're working hard to revive the economy, strengthen the country and enhance our competitiveness," Gen Prayut said.
The Americans understood the situation well and were willing to cooperate with Thailand, he added.
The government also told the Americans its determination to escape the middle-income trap by relying less on exports.
Laws and rules have been revised to reduce obstacles and increasingly liberlisae investments. It is also speeding up regional connectivity.
At the meeting, Chevron confirmed its long-term commitment to Thailand while MasterCard expressed an interest in joining the digital economy project.
GSK, a drug company, commended the one-stop service for permit applications and anti-corruption measures, saying they helped bolster investors' confidence.
It also urged Thailand to speed up making the country an integrated healthcare hub.
Ford wanted Thailand to develop skills and human resources for the automotive industry and to support investments in high-technology assembly.
The prime minister agreed to consider Ford's proposals and asked it to help transfer techonolgy to Thais so the two countries can move forward together.
Monsanto, a seeds producer, wanted to make THailand a seed hub due to its prime location. It pledged to make quality seeds available to Thai farmers to help them cut costs.
Gen Prayut said in addition to availability, the seeds had to be afforable and techonoly transfers should be the focus.
He also asked Monsanto to research and develop high-yield seeds that requires less water to suit Thai needs.
The US is the second largest investor in Thailand, after Japan.
The US companies include American International Group, Brown-Forman, Caterpillar, Chevron, Cigna, Cisco, Citibank, Coca-Cola, ConocoPhillips, Dow Chemical, Eli Lilly and Company, Ford Motor, General Electric, Google, Guardian Industries, MasterCard, Mead Johnson, Microsoft, Monsanto, Philip Morris, Procter & Gamble, Qualcomm, Seagate, Syngenta, Time Warner, UPS and Visa.