The number of newly registered Thai companies rose 28% year-on-year in March, with combined registered capital skyrocketing by 1,055%, according to a Commerce Ministry report.
Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said on Wednesday that the number of newly registered businesses in March tallied 9,179, with a combined registered capital of 300 billion baht.
A surge in the amount of registered capital was attributed to the consolidation of telecom and insurance firms, as well as their transformation into public limited companies in the holding and hotel businesses.
The top three new business categories were real estate, general building construction, and restaurants.
A total of 1,102 businesses ceased operations in March, up 19% year-on-year. The registered capital value of businesses that ceased operations was 22.6 billion baht. The top three types of businesses that ceased operations were general building construction, real estate, and restaurants and catering, similar to trends over the past five years.
In the first quarter of this year, 26,182 new businesses were registered, an increase of 17% year-on-year, with a combined registered capital of 340 billion baht.
The top three new business categories in the first quarter were general building construction, real estate, and restaurants.
A total of 3,268 businesses ceased operations in the first quarter, an increase of 26% year-on-year, with registered capital of 29.9 billion baht.
The top three types of businesses that ceased operations were those engaged in general construction, real estate, and restaurants.
As of March 31, 2023, there were a total of 865,987 businesses operating in Thailand, with a total capital value of 21.1 trillion baht. These businesses can be classified into three types: limited partnerships (202,061 businesses, accounting for 23.3%), limited companies (662,532 businesses, accounting for 76.5%), and public companies (1,394 businesses, accounting for 0.16%).
The Business Development Department expects there to be 40,000-42,000 new businesses in the first half of this year, rising to 72,000-77,000 for the full year.