Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Mie prefecture in the Kansai region on Japan's main Honshu island are keen to invest in the government's much-touted Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), especially in food technology, chemicals, electronics, aviation, biotechnology, medical equipment, education and tourism.
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak met with Mie Governor Eikei Suzuki, who led 30 executives from 23 SMEs to Thailand who are interested in the EEC, particularly to invest in food technology, as Thai food producers still lack proper processing technology for export.
The SME executives also expressed interest in investing in electrical appliances and the automotive industry, Mr Somkid said.
"A new wave of investment by Japanese SMEs in Thailand is anticipated," he said. "The number of SMEs in Mei alone is more than 10,000 companies, and many of them are strong enough to invest abroad."
There are 30 companies with total investment of 11.18 billion baht from Mie prefecture already invested in Thailand.
Significant projects include SEWS-Components Thailand, with a 4.51 billion baht investment to manufacture wiring harness components, Yasunaga Thailand, which makes engine parts with a total investment of 1.2 billion baht, and automotive parts maker Trix Manufacturing Thailand with 1.14 billion baht of investment.
Mr Somkid said Japanese firms are also committed to supporting Thailand on education, with 30 Japanese universities planning to develop human resources to support EEC development.
Mie University has already cooperated on education with the Asian Institute of Technology, Kasetsart University, Khon Kaen University and Thammasat University.
Japan is the top foreign investor in Thailand. In the first half of this year, Japan submitted the most applications to the Office of the Board of Investment. It accounted for 55% of the total foreign investment or 65 billion baht from a total of 120 billion baht.
"The government is luring small and medium-sized enterprises that could potentially invest in Thailand from each prefecture of Japan, especially in the EEC," Mr Somkid said. "Japanese SME investment is also expected to help strengthen Thai counterparts."
He said the Japanese government has a policy to urge Japanese SMEs to invest more abroad, while more than 10,000 companies have the potential to invest abroad, especially in Asean, with Thailand as one of their destinations.
Mr Somkid said he also plans to lead the Thai mission to visit each prefecture in Japan to lure SMEs to invest more in Thailand.