Thailand PM invites Tesla, HP, and Analog Devices to invest

Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin extended an invitation to three significant American corporations to consider investing in Thailand, asserting the nation’s capability to act as their productive bases.

The 61 year old prime minister recently visited the manufacturing plant of Tesla’s electric vehicles (EVs), where he participated in a trial run of the company’s cyber truck, which is set for unveiling in the US later this month.

During his visit, the Bangkok-born PM engaged in discussions with Tesla executives about potential investment opportunities in Thailand. The prime minister revealed that the executives showed interest in investing and are likely to decide in the first quarter of the upcoming year.

Currently, PM Srettha is in the US for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit being held in San Francisco.

Earlier, Narit Therdsteerasukdi, the secretary-general of the Thai Board of Investment (BoI) mentioned that the EV industry was among the three central industries, along with electronics and digital, that the prime minister would be focussing on in his meetings with leading US business leaders.

According to Narit, the EV industry in Thailand has seen a 700% growth, with the registration of 6,000 EVs in the past nine months alone, reported Bangkok Post.

EV production hub

The government is committed to making Thailand the region’s EV production hub. As evidence of this commitment, the National EV Policy Committee, chaired by PM Srettha, approved a new EV incentive package, named EV3.5, which will replace another package set to expire on December 31.

During his visit, the Thai PM also engaged with executives of HP Inc., a company that develops personal computers, laptops and printers. He extended an invitation to the company to invest, and establish a regional office and a production base in Thailand to develop a supply chain.

PM Srettha stated that Thailand’s infrastructure is prepared to accommodate investment. The government has a policy to facilitate ease of doing business to promote foreign investment.

“We also discussed tax incentives as the company wants to expand its production capacity next month. The company’s CEO will meet with me again, and we expect to reach a conclusion by this month.”

PM Srettha invited HP to co-invest in the land bridge megaproject, which will enhance HP’s supply chain development.

This one trillion baht megaproject aims to create a logistics network connecting Ranong along the Andaman Sea to Chumphon along the Gulf of Thailand.

Srettha also held talks with executives of Analog Devices, a global leader in the design and manufacturing of integrated circuits. The executives from this company also expressed interest in establishing a plant in Thailand.