Mingkwan eyes special economic zones

"We will discuss with the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry and other agencies about land allocation. If possible, we want to promote special economic zones on the country's border," Mingkwan said in his first meeting with the Board of Investment (BoI) yesterday.

Mingkwan planned to persuade foreign operators to invest in a package in the promoted industries as well as provide the maximum incentives to research-and-development investment such as medical research and bio-technology.

"I will meet representatives from Thai Chamber of Commerce and Thai Industries Federation soon to target industries that will benefit the country," he said.

Although the investment target of Bt600 billion this year is likely to be out of reach, he did not readjust the figure.

"I have no idea whether we can hit the target, but nothing's impossible. Hence, I will set a clear action plan to promote the investment aggressively in new economic countries such as well as developed countries, including Japan, the United States, and Europe," he said.

The BoI reported total investment applications in the first seven months was worth Bt241.6 billion, down 6.29 per cent from the same period last year. Meanwhile, the number of applications increased from 724 projects to 749 year on year. 

BoI secretary-general Satit Chanjavanakul said some industries such as electronics kept expanding although the total value of the investment applications declined.

The applications for electronics and electric appliances rose from Bt40.1 billion to Bt50.7 billion in the first seven months, while the applications in the utilities and service sector surged from Bt58.3 billion to Bt87.2 billion.

Meanwhile, investments in petrochemical, paper, and plastic industries slumped sharply from Bt60.3 billion to Bt31.9 billion.

"The lower investment application in petrochemical industry was caused by the lack of area to accommodate new expansion projects," Satit said.