Thailand secured 1,954 investment promotion applications worth more than 1.7 trillion baht in the first nine months of the year, a 28 per cent increase driven by artificial intelligence hardware, electronics and food processing.
Foreign direct investment led the expansion, surging 62 per cent year on year to 1.55 trillion baht across 1,309 proposals.
Digital ventures drew 139 projects valued at over 1.17 trillion baht, nearly double the intake from a year earlier. Within that segment, 111 projects worth over 1.2 trillion baht tied directly into artificial intelligence supply chains, spanning data centres, cloud hosting, chip design, semiconductor manufacturing and testing, printed circuit boards and hard-disk drives. Major applicants included US-based Analog Devices, Taiwan’s Delta Electronics and California storage-device maker Western Digital.
Hardware Clusters and Supply Chain Pull
Electrical appliances and component producers took second place, logging 262 project filings valued at 189.37 billion baht, up 7 per cent. Board of Investment secretary-general Narit Therdsteerasukdi stated that rapid expansion across data hubs is accelerating local orders for power management gear, cooling units, high-speed networking lines and server racks. That procurement loop connects heavy infrastructure directly to domestic tier-two and tier-three parts suppliers.
The increase reflected both a global shift in investment flows amid geopolitical tensions and rapid technological change
Singaporean corporate vehicles directed the largest volume of overseas capital, channeling 1.16 trillion baht, followed by manufacturing groups based in China, the United Kingdom, Japan and Taiwan.
Central and Eastern Industrial Hubs Take 93 Per Cent
Geographic concentration remains sharp across the country’s established manufacturing corridors. Thailand’s Central region drew the heaviest capital concentration at 955.2 billion baht, while the Eastern region pulled 632.3 billion baht. Combined, the two commercial districts absorbed 93 per cent of every investment baht pledged through September.
For regional plant managers, the heavy tilt toward Central and Eastern provinces locks in transport advantages close to deep-sea container ports but tightens competition for power grids, industrial water rights and technical plant operators. New facilities entering these corridors must contend with rising land acquisition costs and an increasingly crowded supplier base.
Agribusiness Gains Behind Farm and Packaged Goods
Agribusiness and modern food processing generated the sharpest sectoral growth rate outside digital compute. Applications rose 59 per cent to 80.1 billion baht spread across 218 operations. These proposals span commercial animal feed, processed starches, natural plant extracts, rubber goods, packaging manufactured from farm waste and modernized food and beverage packaging lines.
Other operational segments recorded steady intake. Public utilities and energy groups accounted for 313 applications worth 59.8 billion baht, dominated by solar, wind, biomass and biogas generating facilities alongside industrial water plants. Logistics and commercial services generated 51.8 billion baht in applications, while automotive assemblies and replacement parts manufacturing drew 36.3 billion baht across the period.
Approved Filings Point to Export Mandates
The nine-month intake builds on formal factory approvals already working through state pipelines. The Board of Investment approved 1,951 projects between January and September representing 1.51 trillion baht in committed expenditure.
Approved facilities carry binding production targets once commercial runs begin. According to agency projections, the approved facilities are estimated to generate 1.96 trillion baht in annual exports, absorb more than 693 billion baht in domestic raw materials and parts each year, and open 116,000 factory floor and engineering roles across the industrial estate network.
