The China Printed Circuit Association led over 60 printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturers and related suppliers to meet with BOI. Chinese enterprises have expressed their intention to expand investment in industrial clusters in Thailand and use Thailand as a production base for electronic components to export their products to the international market.

Narit Terdsathirasak, Secretary of the Board for the Promotion of Investment (BOI) in Thailand, revealed that the China Electronics Industry Association, in coordination with the Thai Electronics Association, led a team of printed circuit board manufacturers and related supply chain operators, such as suppliers, raw materials, and machine manufacturers, to visit Thailand from April 19th to 22nd. On April 21st, they visited the Board for the Promotion of Investment (BOI) in Thailand to understand investment data, Government investment promotion measures and other regulations.

Printed circuit boards are important components of electrical and electronic equipment. China's printed circuit board industry is a large-scale industry with a scale of 1.7 trillion baht (340 billion yuan) and 620000 practitioners. In early April, the Thailand Investment Promotion Commission and the Thailand Industrial Park Management Bureau visited China and bulk printed circuit board manufacturers Hushi Electronics and Oshkon. The two companies are interested in investing nearly 12 billion baht in Thailand, and both sides have also negotiated to lead over 200 suppliers to invest in related matters in Thailand.

At present, China's electronic parts industry is facing downward pressure and must accelerate the search for foreign second production sites to effectively reduce trade wars and capital management risks. Due to investment incentives, there is a clear trend of transferring production bases to Thailand, especially for automotive and communication tool components. This is in line with Thailand's policy goals of promoting the new energy vehicle industry, developing smart cities, and utilizing automated digital systems for transformation and upgrading, These have increased the demand for electronic components Nala said.

During this meeting with the Thailand Investment Promotion Committee, most members of the China Electronics and Circuit Industry Association expressed concern about investing in Thailand. They will gather printed circuit board manufacturers, including raw materials and mechanical equipment, to invest in Thailand through an industrial cluster, and will establish factories in nearby areas. Chinese enterprises also consulted on details of preferential investment promotion measures, warehouses and industrial zones, production activity regulations, foreign shareholding, and providing convenience for introducing experts to arrange equipment and transactions.

This is an excellent opportunity for Thailand to attract investment in electronic components from China, which will promote the growth of a large number of related industries. BOI will connect through industrial activities, use this opportunity to introduce potential Thai enterprises into the supply chain, collaborate with non-governmental organizations such as the Thai Electronic Circuit Association, and enable the country to gain more benefits.

The investment application data for printed circuit boards in the past 5 years (2018-2023) shows that there have been 18 projects with an investment value of 39.067 billion baht. In the first quarter of this year (January March 2023), there were 5 projects with an investment value of 14.036 billion baht.

In addition to this visit to Thailand by the Printed Circuit Board Association, other printed circuit board enterprises will also visit Thailand in succession recently. The Hong Kong Printed Circuit Board Association of China will lead 30 association members to visit Thailand in June 2023, and the Taiwan, China Printed Circuit Board Association of China will lead 10 association members to visit Thailand in July 2023.