China Among Top Investors as Thailand Logs $42.6 Billion in 2025 Projects

Foreign investors put $42.6 billion into Thailand high-end production hub for EV batteries and data centers.
Foreign investors put $42.6 billion into Thailand high-end production hub for EV batteries and data centers.

Chinese and regional investors are backing Thailand’s push to become a high-end production and data hub for Southeast Asia. The country’s Board of Investment said investors filed about $42.6 billion worth of new projects this year to build EV battery plants, semiconductor production and large data infrastructure in Thailand.

Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of the Board of Investment (BOI) said Thailand received 2,622 investment promotion applications between January and September 2025, up 23% from a year earlier, with a combined investment value of $42.6 billion, an increase of 94%.

  • Get a daily email packed with the latest news and analysis from Africa, Asia, and across the Global South.
  • Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China’s relations across the Global South.
  • Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in the Global South.

China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening.

Subscribe today for unlimited access.

OR

Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More
by Edwin Shri Bimo

Most Read

1
Developing Countries’ Debt Servicing Costs to China Are Significant, but Nowhere Near as Much as Other Creditors
2 Chinese Military Fans Discuss Why Indonesia Bought Rafale Instead of J-10C
3 From J-10C to Kaan? Indonesia’s Fighter Jet Deal With Turkey Shocks Chinese Military Fans
4
Uncertainty Roils Minerals Markets
5
Indonesia Goes Nuclear, Taps China and Russia for Modular Reactors
6
Chinese Cargo Planes Secretly Ferrying Supplies to Iran, Claim Online Sleuths

You Might Like

China and Hong Kong investment in Thailand hit $922 million in 2025, approvals up 125% to $6.27 billion, $2.08 billion to EEC

Thailand’s Record Investment Boom: How China and Tech are Shaping the Future

Thailand reached a significant milestone in 2024, attracting $33 billion in investment applications, the highest in a decade. China played a key role in this growth, supporting 810 projects worth $5 billion ...
ASEAN exports threatened by rising US tariffs and disrupted China-linked supply chains.

China’s Investment in Cambodia Surges, Deepening Ties but Raising Dependence Questions

China now accounts for nearly 80% of Cambodia’s total investment capital as of the first two months of 2025, underscoring Beijing’s deepening economic footprint. Special Economic Zones SEZs have been crucial ...
At the Fourth Think Tank High-Level Forum this week, Cambodia reaffirmed its deepening alignment with China’s economic and geopolitical vision, particularly through its ‘second Shenzhen’ ambition in Preah Sihanouk province.

Cambodia’s Strategic Bet: Banking on China’s Vision for a Second Shenzhen

Cambodia is making a strategic bet by aligning itself closely with China’s economic and geopolitical vision, particularly through the “second Shenzhen” dream in Preah Sihanouk province. The Fourth Think Tank High-Level Forum, ...

Indonesia’s Decision to Block Exports of Unprocessed Nickel is Paying Off Big Time

Indonesia is the envy of commodity-exporting countries throughout the Global South, who have long tried to find a way to force foreign mining companies to process raw materials domestically prior to export. Unfortunately ...

What is The China-Global South Project?

Independent

The China-Global South Project is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Global South stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalists and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Global South discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.

More about CGSP