BoI branch upgrade ordered
The Board of Investment has been told to restructure its working process and employ more staffers at its 14 international bureaux in order to prepare itself to support foreign direct investment in the government’s flagship Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) scheme.
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said the government aims for the BoI to change its procedures to cope with inquiries from overseas countries about the corridor.
“The BoI’s international offices need restructuring,” Mr Somkid said. “Meanwhile, they have to adjust their methods to connect with the foreign companies once those firms express interest in investing in the EEC provinces.”
The BoI must also boost leadership staff at the international bureaux, he said, particularly in China, South Korea and Japan — all major investors in Thailand.
Yesterday, Mr Somkid and Kobsak Pootrakool, the Prime Minister’s Office minister, had a meeting with BoI leaders from bureaux in 14 countries, including Germany, China, Japan and South Korea, on promoting the government’s investment policy in relation to the corridor.
Mr Somkid said the BoI should introduce artificial intelligence (AI) technology to its working process by carrying out investor behavioural analysis and gathering more investor data for the government.
Chinese investors plan to visit Thailand, especially EEC provinces, this month, while October will bring Japanese investors to visit the EEC area.
“Moreover, investors from Hong Kong have expressed intentions to set up innovation and startup projects in the EEC province, and they will visit the country next February,” Mr Somkid said.
Mr Kobsak said t he government believes that the much-touted EEC scheme will boost investment in the long run, so the government is compelled to order the BoI to restructure in furtherance of the effort.
For the past decade, Thailand has faced many challenges when striving to improve the economy and people’s incomes, as well as when trying to improve competitiveness to be on a par with that of highincome countries.