The Board of Investment (BoI) gave the green light yesterday for measures to help companies invest in Pathum Thani and Ayutthaya provinces to prevent relocation from flood-hit industrial estates.
Companies have until the end of this year to submit applications for the measures that apply to both new investment and existing projects that are extending their investment.
The move followed a decision last December to approve measures to help flood-hit companies recover, but this did not include new investment.
New or existing projects in industrial estates or zones in Pathum Thani province will receive an eight-year tax exemption at a rate of 150% of new investment value.
For example, if a company within its eight-year window of corporate tax exemption invests 100 million baht to reinvest in the same province, then it can claim 150 million baht off its tax liability for the rest of its promotion period.
Projects in Ayutthaya will receive the same benefits, with another 50% waiver in taxes for three years after completing the eight-year period.
Taxes for imported machinery will also be waived if the machinery is less than 10 years old.
"We want [these two provinces] to continue to be an important production base for investors and also attract new factories," said Industry Minister M.R. Pongsvas Svasti.
BoI secretary-general Atchaka Sribunruang said the measures also keep the board on target for 600 billion baht in applications this year. Over the first two months this year there were 277 applications totalling 154 billion baht.
"We are concerned with the news that investors might relocate from flood-hit industrial estates," she said.
"If we keep companies in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani it helps avoid social problems as families can continue to live together and children won't have to change schools," said M.R. Pongsvas.
Yesterday the board also approved 11 projects totalling 83.89 billion baht, with 53.84 billion baht in projects in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani provinces.
"This shows investors are still interested in [these two provinces], and the new measures apply to these projects immediately without the need to submit new applications," he said.
Some 54 billion baht is for projects to produce electricity.
A 47.7-billion baht investment is for a 1,600-megawatt independent power producer project from Gulf JP UT Ltd to sell electricity to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand.
The board also approved Thai Airways International's 10.6 billion baht purchase of three Airbus 330-343s.