The Board of Investment (BoI) of Thailand has encouraged Thai companies to start investing in other emerging markets to capitalize on special privileges as some countries have opened to foreign investment without many competitors.
Chokedee Kaewsang, deputy secretary-general of the BoI, said there were several interesting emerging markets that have opened for foreign investment, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Ethiopia, India, South Africa and Tanzania.
“We should not overlook those five countries as their economies have strong potential with lower production costs, particularly labour costs,” said Mr Chokedee.
He said those countries also offered several investment privileges to attract foreign investors.
However, there are risks to foreign investment and investors should gather plenty of information before entering a new emerging market, said Mr Chokedee.
The BoI held a seminar on August 22, 2017 to provide information to Thai investors who were interested in investing in those five countries.
“We have even more information that can be provided to investors at the BoI office,” he said.
Orasa Paiboon, head of the Overseas Investment Promotion Division, said as an African country whose economy tends to grow rapidly, Ethiopia is an interesting destination for Thai investors.
The World Bank forecast the country’s GDP to grow by 8.3% this year, Ms Orasa added.
The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) is an agency of the Government of Thailand whose mission is to promote foreign investment in Thailand by providing information, services, and incentives to interested foreign investors.
The office operates under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s Office.
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