The Board of Investment (BoI) continued to encourage more South Korean companies, including vaccine maker SK Bioscience, to expand their businesses into Thailand during its latest roadshow in Seoul.
Earlier this month, the board granted investment incentives to Hyundai Mobility Thailand, a subsidiary of South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group, which is preparing to expand its electric vehicle business in Thailand through a 1-billion-baht investment.
Hyundai intends to produce battery EVs and batteries in Thailand by 2026, officials said.
The BoI convinced more prospective South Korean investors to invest in Thailand and discussed investment details with companies that plan to grow their businesses here.
"We met executives from Hyundai Motor Group, Korea Land and Housing, SK Bioscience and CJ BIO," said Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of the BoI.
SK Bioscience plans to invest in vaccine development and production in Thailand through cooperation with the Government Pharmaceutical Organization and the National Vaccine Institute.
This project will enhance healthcare security in Thailand and pave the way for the country to be a vaccine export base, said Mr Narit.
Korea Land and Housing wants to develop an industrial estate in Thailand to support future investment from South Korean businesspeople.
It also expressed an interest in the government's Land Bridge megaproject, which comprises a logistics network connecting Ranong along the Andaman Sea with Chumphon on the Gulf of Thailand.
CJ BIO, a subsidiary of CJ Group which runs various businesses including food and food services, plans to help the Thai government improve regulations on animal feed formulas to support the Thai meat processing industry.
During the two-day roadshow, which ended on Aug 26, the BoI organised the Thailand-Korea Investment Forum to introduce investment opportunities to representatives from 160 companies in the automotive, electronics, medical, biotechnological and clean energy sectors.
From 2019 to June 2024, South Korean firms submitted 148 investment project proposals to the BoI worth 62.7 billion baht in a bid to join the board's investment incentive programmes.