BOI Projects Tell One Story: Thailand’s Factory Floor Is Being Rewritten
By Pornprapun Sriyotha · Published February 15, 2026 · 5 min read
We analyzed every single BOI-approved investment project from January 2024 to January 2026. Here’s what Thailand’s industrial future really looks like when you focus on what factories will actually produce.
Welcome to the biggest industrial migration story in Southeast Asia right now. 🔍 The Data Behind the Story We pulled the complete BOI-approved project list — 5,844 investment projects approved between January 2024 and January 2026. Every company name, every province, every product description, every nationality of ownership. Rather than stopping at broad BOI categories, we grouped projects by what they actually make: metal parts, PCB assemblies, EV components, packaging, rubber parts, logistics, and so on. That gives a much sharper view of Thailand’s industrial base. Then we ran the numbers. Where the Money Is Going Once you look at projects by what’s really being produced, Thailand’s industrial picture looks like this (counts by project, highlighting Thai, Chinese/HK, and Japanese investors): Industry Sector Projects Chinese/HK Thai Japanese Recycling & Circular Economy 1,054 44 842 31 Metal Parts & Tooling 661 421 135 55 Food & Agriculture 562 107 454 30 Automotive & EV 449 212 117 113 Electronics & Semiconductors 440 259 58 38 Machinery & Equipment 421 249 99 35 Electrical Equipment 327 228 47 34 Trade & Investment Offices 307 84 60 65 Digital & Software 264 28 143 17 Plastics & Rubber 236 161 52 25 Below these three nationalities, the largest other investor groups across the dataset are Singaporean (730 projects), Taiwanese (300), American (154), British (105), French (94), Malaysian (76), and German (74) investors. Two big takeaways: Metal Parts & Tooling, Electronics…