Thailand sees ten-year high in new business registrations, surpasses projections

The Business Development Department of Thailand’s Commerce Ministry reported an exceedance of its new business registration projections for the first half of the year. The original estimate of 42,000 to 45,000 new registrations translated to a practical figure of 47,286. A positive development which signals a thriving entrepreneurial climate.

This buoyant climate has encouraged an upward revision of predictions for the second half of the year. The revised estimates now project the likelihood of 36,000 to 43,000 new corporate registrations. Accordingly, the overall tally for the year could be estimated at around 83,000 to 90,000. This represents a marked surge from the earlier projection of 75,000 to 78,000, besides an upward trend from last year’s total of 76,488 registrations.

As Thosapone Dansuputra, the department’s director-general, confirmed on Thursday, the first half of the year witnessed a 17.3% increase in new business registrations reaching 47,286. This performance marks a ten-year high, bolstered by registered capital touching 429 billion baht, a 53% boost.

The sectors experiencing the highest influx of new business registrations were general building construction, property, and the hotel and restaurant industry. This upward graph notwithstanding, business shutdowns too saw an 18% upward curve reaching 7,097, alongside a 15% dip in registered capital, totalling 49.6 billion baht, reported Bangkok Post.

A flashback of the decade-long journey from June 2014 to 2023 reveals a new high with June 2023 witnessing the highest number of new business registrations. Thosapone said…

“If we consider the period from January to June, the total of 47,286 new business registrations was also the highest level seen in the past 10 years. The economic recovery and resurgence of the tourism sector contributed to this growth.”

A standout was the whooping 53% increase in registered capital for the six-month duration, driven by telecom and insurance industry mergers in March. A few businesses transitioning into public companies also tipped the scales in the hotel industry and holding company sector.

On the sector-wise front, tourism-related businesses noted an 81.2% escalation in the first half of the year, constituting 7.99% of all newly registered companies.

Foreign currency exchange businesses birthed a 257% surge, possibly reflecting the trend of increasing global travel. Moreover, wholesale rice and cereal trading businesses marked a 254% augmentation, a sequence steered by Thailand’s drive for sustainable rice production under the aegis of the “biocircular and green policy.”