Applications for investment privileges set a new record in 2014 with a total value of 2.19 trillion baht, the Board of Investment (BoI) announced.
BoI actng secretary-general Hiranya Sujinai said there were a total of 3,469 projects seeking privileges for 2.19 trillion baht of investment plans, up 73% from 2013 in terms of the number of projects and up 117% in terms of investment value.
In December alone there were 2,092 applications with total investment of 1.428 trillion baht.
She believed the surge was fueled by companies that already had investment or expansion plans for the future and decided to speed up filing their application in order to gain benefits under the old policies.
The BoI has changed its incentives for investors in 2015, cutting benefits for some industries by focusing on projects creating economic value or supporting research and development.