Foreign investors confident about Thailand: survey

Thailand's Board of Investment (BOI) found from its survey in the first half of this year that almost all foreign investors had confidence in Thailand.

BOI secretary-general Udom Wongviwatchai said recently that the survey found that foreign investors still had a positive perspective towards Thailand and most of them maintained their investment weight.

The survey of about 600 foreign investors was conducted from March to May this year, and 53% of respondents were Japanese investors.

It found that 98% of questioned foreign investors had confidence in Thailand, 74% would maintain their investment level, 24% would increase their investment, and only two percent may reduce their spending.

None of the surveyed foreign investors planned to withdraw from Thailand.

The biggest factor in Thailand's favor in the eye of the foreign investors was the adequate number of suppliers and availability of raw materials, followed by its infrastructure, convenient access to financial sources, and reasonable wages for skilled labor.

The surveyed companies placed Thailand second only to Singapore for investment attractiveness in Southeast Asia.

The industries in which foreign investors wanted to expand the most concerned metal products, machinery and transport equipment, followed by electronic and electrical appliances, chemical products, paper and plastic products.

The survey also found that most foreign investors expected better operating results next year.