The Board of Investment (BoI) plans to offer new incentives to make Thailand remain in the spotlight for Asean investment, particularly the flagship area of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), says newly appointed director-general Duangjai Asawachintachit.
The new investment incentives will focus on the development of human resources, supporting agriculture and facilitating investment in the government's 10 targeted industries, she said.
"The BoI is focusing on Asian countries that have strong potential to expand investment in Thailand such as China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, which still have policies to encourage overseas investment," Ms Duangjai said.
She said the BoI board is due to meet soon to figure out the exact measures and incentives to help develop Thai human resources to meet rising demand for skilled labour.
The board is likely to create incentives for companies to offer training courses or accept new graduates as trainees, Ms Duangjai said.
"This should help develop our human resources and increase the amount of skilled labour, which is needed," she said.
The BoI will also continue to work on new measures and incentives to increase the quality and efficiency of the agriculture and agriculture-related sectors, Ms Duangjai said.
The 10 targeted industries are next-generation cars; smart electronics; affluent, medical and wellness tourism; agriculture and biotechnology; food; robotics for industry; logistics and aviation; biofuels and biochemicals; digital; and medical services.
Ms Duangjai said the BoI will still focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), aiming to create new investment incentives that support SMEs indirectly.
"The BoI plans to discuss measures and incentives for this segment with the National Economic and Social Development Board soon, particularly for incentives for companies that create training courses to help develop our human resources," she said.
With strong government support to accelerate new investment, particularly in the EEC, total new investment for 2017 could reach its target of 600 billion baht.
"The major factor helping to spur investment this year was the government's investment promotion policies for the EEC," Ms Duangjai said.
The EEC is the government's big gamble on moving the economy towards the Thailand 4.0 goal.
The BoI reported that investment projects in the EEC zone during 2014-17 totalled 1,561 with a combined value of 1.1 trillion baht.