Hiring up among BoI investors

A Board of Investment survey shows 42 per cent of promoted investors in six industries have hired more staff, thanks to signs of an economic recovery.

These firms are preparing to boost production to last year's precrisis level.

The survey covered 371 promoted companies having a minimum investment of Bt500 million each.

Secretary-general Atchaka Sibunruang Brimble said 155 companies, or 42 per cent of the respondents, reported hiring more employees in July, particularly in electrical appliances and electronics, raising their recruitment of temporary workers 62 per cent.

Forty-seven per cent of respondents maintained their recruitment at the same level as at the beginning of the year after most of them terminated some workers in the wake of the financial meltdown.

She said 94 respondents insisted they would expand their investment in Thailand this year by a combined Bt113 billion, while 200 companies had no expansion plan this year or would wait to see whether the global economy did recover.

Of that amount, Bt43.7 billion will come from the chemical, paper and plastic sectors, Bt21.8 billion from services and infrastructure, Bt19.1 billion from electric-appliances and electronics and Bt14.7 billion from the agricultural sector.

She said used production capacity would be maintained at 64.3 per cent, similar to last year but up from 61.5 per cent in 2007.

Meanwhile, the BOI yesterday set up a committee to revise regulations and incentives to attract more foreign companies to set up regional headquarters in Thailand.

The incentive revision will cover a reduction in corporate income tax, which is the main concern for the private sector, because Thailand's rate is much higher than in other places, including Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

"Despite being a production hub for several industries, including autos and electronics, foreign firms do not set up their headquarters in Thailand, due to the high tax rate. Therefore, we've appointed a committee to reconsider and revise outdated regulations and incentives to attract them," said Industry Minister Charnchai Chairungrueng.

The committee will be led by Deputy Finance Minister Pradit Pataraprasit and consist of representatives from both the private sector and state agencies, including the BoI, the Fiscal Policy Office, the Revenue and Business Development departments, the Bank of Thailand, the Federation of Thai Industries and the Board of Trade.

He said the revision would be finished in two months.

So far, 81 companies have won BOI tax incentives to set up their regional headquarters here, including Exxon Mobil, Asian Honda Motor and Chevron Asia South.

Charnchai said the board also agreed to set up a fund for technology and human-resource development aimed at increasing the Kingdom's competitiveness in research and development and innovation.

The fund will focus on promoting this type of investment among small and medium-sized enterprises.

The BoI's board also approved four investment projects worth a combined Bt16 billion, from Thai Airways International, Thai Samsung Electronics, Cataler (Thailand) and Sahaviriya Plate Mill.