The Department of Business Development (DBD) expects new business registrations for 2024 to reach between 90,000 and 98,000, marking a 5-15% increase, attributed to the progress of the digital wallet handout policy, measures to attract foreign investment, namely the long-term resident visa scheme and corporate income tax exemption for foreign companies that conduct business here, as well as the use of investment budget following the disbursement of fiscal 2025 budget that began on April 26.
Moreover, the government's plan to stimulate tourism in the second half of 2024 will drive the tourism sector and related businesses such as hotels, restaurants and logistics firms.
The department expects an increase in the number of business registrations related to tourism.
Factors affecting new business registrations include household and corporate debt, inflation, ongoing geopolitical tensions and the delayed spending of the expenditure and investment budgets.
Auramon Supthaweethum, director-general of the department, said new business registrations in the first half of the year declined by 1.9% to 46,383, with combined registered capital of 145 billion baht, down 66.1% compared to the corresponding period last year.
The decrease was attributed to the high-base effect in 2023 due to the economic recovery, a larger number of tourism-related businesses resuming after the pandemic, the expansion of private consumption and exports, and the implementation of the government's stimulus policies, she said.
This is in line with the target set by the department of 44,000-47,000 registrations, comprising service sector registrations, accounting for around 57%, followed by registrations in the wholesale/retail sector (32.6%) and registrations in manufacturing sector (10.2%).