Staff members welcome Chinese tourists at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok, Thailand, Sept. 25, 2023. Thailand extended a warm welcome to the first batch of visa-exempt flights from China on Monday, marking the launch of the nation's fresh initiative to reinvigorate its Chinese tourist market. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese investment in Thailand is set to remain at a high level, reflecting a host of positive factors, after China became Thailand's largest foreign investor in 2023, Chinese and Thai analysts said on Wednesday.

Since December, at least 14 A-share listed companies have announced that they are setting up branches, building new plants, expanding existing facilities or increasing their capital in Thailand, amid an accelerated inflows of Chinese investment into Thailand, according to media reports.

ZYNP Corp, a combustion engine component maker from Central China's Henan Province, said in a stock filing on Wednesday that it is investing 210 million yuan ($29.56 million) to build a production base in Thailand.

Circuit Fabology Microelectronics Equipment Co, a printed circuit board (PCB) company based in East China's Anhui Province, announced on Wednesday that it is investing 100 million yuan in Thailand to set up a branch, buy land and build a plant.

Xu Genluo, vice president of Thailand-based Amata Corp, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the Chinese business community demonstrated an unprecedented passion to invest in Thailand last year and groups after groups of business delegations visited his industrial park.

Chinese and Thai analysts told the Global Times that rising Chinese investment is being driven by the new-energy vehicle (NEV) and electronics industries, with incentives by the Thai government. The world economic landscape, facing anti-globalization headwinds, has helped push this trend.

As the two sides work toward a China-Thailand Community with a Shared Future for Enhanced Stability, Prosperity and Sustainability, along with continued and accelerated growth in China-ASEAN trade and investment, Chinese companies' investment in Thailand will continue to surge, they predicted.

Lei Xiaohua, an ASEAN expert at the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the Thai government has made economic development its top goal and regards attracting investment from China as one of the most important tools for economic development.

Chinese investors are also being attracted by Thailand's relatively complete supply chains and low-cost advantages, and the benefits and convenience brought by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership trade pact that took effect on January 1, 2022, Lei said.

In a move that will boost people-to-people exchanges and commercial ties, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced on Tuesday that Thailand and China will permanently exempt each other's citizens from visa requirements, starting from March, China Media Group reported.

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that mutual visa exemptions serve the fundamental interests of both peoples, and the government departments responsible for the matter are in close communication on the specifics.

Boosted by the news, searches for the keyword "Bangkok" on Chinese travel platform Mafengwo surged by 200 percent as of Tuesday noon.

Huang Bin, head of the Chinese Department at the Bangkok-based Kasikorn Research Center, told the Global Times on Wednesday that almost all Chinese NEV brands invested in Thailand in 2023 due to incentives offered by the Thai government. Policies such as the EV3.5 program offer subsidies for the purchase of NEVs and aim to promote Thailand as the regional hub for these vehicles. For foreign investors, support policies include zero tariffs for imported used machine tools.

A reshaping of the global semiconductor supply chain also brought a large number of electronics firms, PCB companies in particular, to invest in Thailand, Huang said.

Huang predicted that the mutual visa exemption policy will boost bilateral trade and investment, though in a gradual fashion.

As China became Thailand's largest source of investment last year, the trend is expected to be maintained in 2024, the expert said.

China emerged as the largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) applications, contributing 24 percent of FDI by value, with total investment pledges of 97.4 billion baht ($2.84 billion) for 264 projects in the first nine months of 2023, according to The Thailand Board of Investment.

In 2024, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia will be the highlight for Chinese overseas direct investment, Lei said.