Thailand approves new incentive packages to boost foreign investment

BOI Secretary-General Duangjai Asawachintachit (R) at the meeting (Photo: thainews.prd.go.th)

Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) on September 20 adopted a set of incentive measures to attract foreign businesses’ investment in the country.

Local media quoted BOI Secretary-General Duangjai Asawachintachit as saying that the new packages, named “Thailand Plus”, were approved during a BOI meeting under the chair of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

The promotional privileges include a corporate income tax exemption for 5-8 years. Projects located outside Bangkok are entitled to a 50 percent deduction in corporate income tax for five years, on the condition that they are submitted for promotional privileges before the end of 2020, worth no less than one billion THB (32.8 million USD) in investment capital, and carried out in 2021.

To develop human resources and build up the high skilled workforce, project entrepreneurs should organize skills training for their personnel and allow students to undergo skills training before they enter the job market.

The measure provides for expenditure incurred in the training of personnel to be added to the allowable deductions in corporate income tax, for which no minimum cost of such expenditure is set.

Entrepreneurs who allow students to undergo skills training in science and technology will qualify for a corporate tax exemption.

Those who have their personnel undergo training in targeted technology will have twice as much the amount of expenditure on such training entitled to a corporate tax exemption.

These entrepreneurs are required to file requests for such promotional privileges in 2021.

Educational or training institutions will receive exemption of import duty on machinery. Applications must be submitted by the year 2021 and applicants must be engaged in the BOI eligible activities under the current investment promotion scheme./.

VNA