Thailand: investment pledges up, bad debts down in Q1

Illustrative image (Photo: Internet)

Bangkok (VNA) – The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) announced on May 22 that the number of applications for investment during the first quarter of this year surged by 77% annually to 185.7 billion THB (5.4 billion USD), led by electronics, food and automobiles.

In a statement, the BOI said higher investment inflows are supported by the reopening of major investor countries and the trend of companies relocating their production bases to Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, to mitigate geopolitical risks.

In the first quarter of this year, foreign investment commitments reached a total value of 155 billion THB, marking a 10% increase year-on-year.

The Republic of Korea was the largest investor in Thailand with a combined worth of 31.4 billion THB, followed by Singapore with 29.7 billion THB, China 25 billion THB and Japan 24.8 billion THB.
 
Last year, investment applications in Thailand reached 664.6 billion THB, up 39% from 2021.

The same day, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) announced that the non-performing loan ratio of Thai banks stood at 2.68% as of the end of March, down from 2.73% in the end of 2022, thanks to debt restructuring efforts.

The BoT also said the Thai banking system continues to maintain strong resilience with adequate capital levels, risk provisions for lending, and high liquidity./.