Phuket’s business boom continues

PHUKET: The number of new businesses registered on Phuket so far this year has increased by nearly 50% over the number for the same period last year, according to statistics from the Phuket Provincial Business Development Office (PBDO).

Yongyuth Kasetsuntorn, head of the the PBDO, told the Gazette that 1,452 new limited partnerships and limited companies were registered from January 1 to November 30 this year, 470 more than last year.

And only 208 businesses were de-registered – 106 fewer than last year, he added.

K. Yongyuth said that spa and resort businesses in Pa Khlok – where land is still relatively cheap – formed the largest single category of registrations, and that foreign investors in Phuket businesses were most likely to be English, Swedish, Japanese or Korean,

The boom in new businesses on the island has resulted in a windfall for the PBDO’s coffers. Registration fees collected by the PBDO during the period rose from 18.9 million baht last year to 29.6 million this year.

K. Yongyuth said, “It’s difficult for me forecast what the new business situation will be like during the coming year because, despite the limited size of Phuket, lots of people come to live and do business here.

“But so long as things stay quiet politically and the price of gasoline doesn’t rise too much, I’d say investment will continue to rise.