Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-dnltx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T13:07:35.328Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Foreign Investment and Investment Arbitration: Thailand in Deluge

from PART I - NATIONAL REPORTS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 March 2019

By
Suparb Vongkiatkachorn
Edited by
Carlos Esplugues
Suparb Vongkiatkachorn
Affiliation:
A former co-managing partner of the Bangkok office of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Get access

Summary

INTRODUCTION

This chapter deals principally with the equity capital form of foreign direct investment (FDI) that reflects a lasting interest and control by a foreign direct investor, as opposed to foreign portfolio investment. There is no intention here to prove whether FDI inflow to Thailand is better or worse than other measures for her economic growth and development and inequality and poverty reduction. Nor whether inward FDI would be attracted or maintained as a result of international investment agreements or any particular elements thereof or measures related thereto. Lastly, nor whether Thailand has made enough progress in respect of her various international commitments. Opinion or comments expressed or implied here cannot be regarded as legal advice which must be obtained for a particular case when all specific and relevant facts have been ascertained and considered.

Reportedly,

Thailand, the second largest economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after Indonesia, is an upper middle-income country with pro-investment policies and a well-developed and growing infrastructure platform. … Thailand continues to maintain an open, market-oriented economy and encourages foreign direct investment (FDI) as a means of promoting economic development, employment, and technology transfer. In recent decades, Thailand has been a major destination for FDI; and hundreds of U.S. companies have invested successfully in the Thai economy. Thailand continues to welcome investment from all countries and seeks to avoid dependence on any one country as a source of investment. … The Thai government maintains a regulatory framework that broadly encourages investment.

Moreover, in June 2017, the World Bank ranked Thailand as the 26th country on’ ease of doing business’. According to the Bank of Thailand (Thailand's central bank), the total FDI in Thailand in 2017 (updated as of 31 August 2017) was USD 5,118.43 million.

BACKDROP

In the past Thailand signed a number of international investment agreements (IIAs) 5 of the early type of bilateral investment agreement (BIT), 6 i.e. the treaty of friendship, commerce and navigation, 7 with many countries.

Type
Chapter
Information
Foreign Investment and Investment Arbitration in Asia
, pp. 273 - 298
Publisher: Intersentia
Print publication year: 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×