WHA anticipates US tech giants’ investment surge due to Thailand’s renewable potential

Thailand’s biggest built-to-suit logistics facilities developer, WHA Corporation, anticipates an increase in investment from US tech giants in the coming year, as they eye business expansion in the ASEAN region.

Major players such as Google, Microsoft, and Tesla have shown interest in the country’s potential during an investment talk. The event was a part of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s participation in the 78th UN General Assembly in New York, held from September 18-24.

WHA’s group chief executive Jareeporn Jarukornsakul asserted her confidence in Thailand attracting more investments from these tech behemoths. The companies are particularly interested in the country’s capability to provide a sufficient renewable power supply to support their investments, aligning with their commitment to the carbon neutrality campaign.

Jareeporn says the WHA has been proactive in this regard, having already developed renewable power facilities, including solar and wind power, within its industrial estates.

“Their power generation capacity stands at 192 megawatts. We aim to increase this to 300MW.”

Over the next five years, WHA is also planning to invest in a green hydrogen project, aiming to provide a new alternative clean fuel for investors.

Foreign firms’ relocation

The relocation of foreign firms’ production facilities into the ASEAN region has been beneficial for WHA, leading the company to adjust its industrial land sales target in Thailand and Vietnam to 2,750 rai this year, a significant increase from the initial 1,750 rai, according to Natthapatt Tanboon-ek, WHA’s chief financial officer, reported Bangkok Post.

During the first half of 2023, the company reported total revenue, which includes the share of profit, of 5.6 billion baht. This is a noteworthy 27% increase from the same period last year. Its net profit also grew substantially, soaring by 46% year-on-year to 1.39 billion baht.

While Jareeporn confirmed that the company had signed new land purchase agreements with a Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer and a US company, she refrained from disclosing the names of the companies.

In light of its future plans, Natthapatt revealed that WHA allocated a budget of 68.5 billion baht for its businesses over the next five years, starting in 2022.

“We will spend around 13 billion baht this year and increase the amount to 14 billion baht in 2024. Most of the budget will go to industrial estate development in Thailand and Vietnam.”

The company’s focus lies in developing more industrial land to accommodate the expansion of Chinese EV manufacturing.

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