Bangkok (VNA) - Chinese investment applications in Thailand surpassed those made by Japanese companies for the first time in 2019, standing at 262 billion baht (8.66 billion USD), the Board of Investment (BoI) has announced.

According to the BoI, Japanese investment applications were worth 73.1 billion baht, while Hong Kong investors were in third place with a value of 36.3 billion baht.

The BoI’s Secretary-General Duangjai Asawachintachit said Chinese investors applied for the government's investment incentives to avoid the continued US-China trade war.

Chinese companies have to seek countries to move their production facilities, with Southeast Asia and Thailand in particular favoured, she said.

Of the total investment applications from China, roughly 160 billion baht were for projects in 12 targeted industries and general sectors, while 101 billion was for the high-speed railway linking three airports.

The BoI reported total investment applications in 2019 stood at 756 billion baht from 1,624 projects.

This value is 16.2 percent lower than 2018 applications, which were worth 902 billion baht./.