Thailand invites Indian investors

Agri-industries, automotive parts and components, electronics and ICT, high value services like logistics and software and fashion products are the potential areas for Indian investors in Thailand, Suchart Phisitvanich, acting senior executive advisor, Board of Investment (BOI), Thailand said at a Ficci meeting on Wednesday.

Phisitvanich added that Indian industries which are considered to be very strong are software, biotechnology and pharma industry should qualify for the recently announced 'Skilled Technology and Innovation' project promotion programme by BOI and are entitled to the best incentives and privileges for investment.

Pointing out that Thailand is an investor friendly country with conducive geographical location and liberal investment policy, he said that the country could be an attractive business destination for ASEAN and also the western markets.

Highlighting the extra support which BOI would provide to the investors, he mentioned that they would guarantee against nationalisation and price control, permission to own land and bring foreign expert, corporate income tax holidays up to eight years, duty exemption for machinery import and raw material manufacturing for export.

As a move to promote Indian investment in the country, Thailand BOI will be participating in the Indian Trade Exhibition co-organised by the Thai-Indian Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok in August this year. Also, negotiations are currently taking place with US and India for Free Trade Agreements (FTA).

Indian investments in Thailand are mainly in areas which are relatively high-tech, capital intensive and cover wide-range of products and activities like rayon fibre, steel wires and rods, paper grade pulp, chemicals and drugs and pharmacueticals, nylon tyre cord and real estate.

Groups like Aditya Birla Group, Indo-Rama Synthetics, Ranbaxy, Ansals, Rayon Group are present in the country with the trade between the two countries likely to reach $2 billion by end of 2004.