The first quarter of 2017 has now come to a close, and I have several developments I’m excited to share in this newsletter.
In February, we held the ‘Opportunity Thailand’ foreign investment conference in Bangkok, to announce new strategies intended to bring about the Thailand of the future via economic development. The conference featured speakers from all areas of government, presenting plans for improving and expanding Thailand’s key industries and was attended by journalists and investors from around the world.
In March, we were able to confirm that we surpassed our foreign direct investment goals for 2016 with over USD $16 billion in investments. The first quarter of 2017 also makes me optimistic that Thailand will achieve or beat our foreign direct investment targets for this year, much as we did in 2016.
Thailand is continuing to establish itself as a full-service avionics hub for the ASEAN region. Global aviation power players such as Airbus look at U-Tapao as a future MRO hub in the region, and companies like Bridgestone are expanding their avionics- specific tire manufacturing operations in the country. This recent series of investments total USD $78 billion across five separate projects. The Thai government recently approved a 15-year Aviation Industry Development Plan as part of its new Thailand 4.0 economic development efforts to further develop the country’s aerospace sector and strengthen its position as Southeast Asia’s next regional aviation/MRO hub. The plan establishes a framework and offers incentives, valid through 2032, that will support the growth of aircraft maintenance and spare parts production in Thailand.
In this issue of our newsletter, we walk you through some exciting announcements that lend perspective to the ways in which Thailand’s key industries will continue to expand in 2017 and how Thailand 4.0 is coming to fruition.
