Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand's government will continue to designate 2026 as the "Year of Investment", with a target of attracting 900 billion to 1 trillion THB (approximately 27.5-30.5 billion USD) in realised foreign direct investment (FDI), Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas has said.
The government aims to use stronger FDI inflows to drive economic growth and enhance the country's long-term competitiveness.
Speaking at the 29th anniversary of the National Press Council of Thailand on July 4, Ekniti said the lower capital budget did not reflect a reduction in overall national investment.
Ekniti said the next step was to ensure that approved projects translated into real spending, not only paper approvals. Under the Thailand FastPass scheme conditions, promoted investors will be required to put in at least 20% of their actual investment within this year.
The government will also push the Skill Bridge project as part of the wider investment strategy. The project is intended to support technology transfer and upgrade the skills of Thai workers so they can meet demand from new industries.
Though the share of investment spending in the 2027 budget had declined, Ekniti said the government could still raise overall investment by mobilising funding outside the normal budget process.
He said the investment drive would rely on several channels, including: Public-Private Partnership (PPP), The Thailand Future Fund and FDI.
Ekniti said the lower investment ratio in the budget reflected the limited fiscal space currently available to the government. However, he said the figures also reflected improved transparency in how the budget was presented.
According to Ekniti, some recurring expenditure that had previously not been clearly separated has now been disclosed more transparently. This has pushed up the visible share of regular expenditure and made the investment budget appear lower in numerical terms.
He said the government would compensate for the tighter budget position by driving more private-sector and state-enterprise investment, while using off-budget mechanisms to maintain economic momentum./.
