BOI Says Investors Show Increasing Interest in Thailand's Medical Sector

Foreign and Thai companies are investing in Thailand's medical sector to help solve the COVID-19 situation and build on the country's potential as a medical center, the Thai Investment Board (BOI) said.

BOI data reveals that 50 project applications were submitted by foreign and Thai developers during the first six months of 2020, worth a combined investment value of 12.69 billion baht (USD 400 million). In April the BOI approved a special incentive scheme to boost medical industry investment.

"The projects that have been submitted contribute largely to the development of the medical devices and parts required to help the rapid response to coronavirus outbreak," said BOI Secretary-General Ms. Duangjai Asawachintachit. "To respond to the crisis, we have accepted more than 80 percent of the projects, thus preparing the way for Thailand's longer-term growth as a production hub for medical devices and supplies."

The 50 applications include ventures to produce medical equipment or products such as rubber gloves and masks, and non-Woven fabrics such as spunbond or melt blown used as raw materials in mask and medical device production, BIo data shows

Other biotechnology projects include the one submitted by Apsalagen Co., Ltd., a joint venture between Siam Bioscience Co., Ltd. and Haase Investment in Germany, which is the main shareholder in Biotechrabbit GmbH, a producer of biological reagents. The biological reagents and master mixtures of Apsalagen are used in the production of Rapid Tests (RT-PCR) for COVID-19 detection.

The BOI also recently approved a biotech development project undertaken by Kingen Biotech, a 50-50 joint venture between the South Korean biotech firm Genexine, and Kingen Holdings Co., Ltd. in Thailand. The company has committed to invest 406 million baht (around USD 12.8 million) to develop and produce bioactive compounds, such as plasmid DNA and fusion protein, in Thailand. The venture will work closely with Thonburi Technology University of King Mongkut in the area of local research and development as well as biopharmaceutical manufacturing, the BOI has said.

Source prnewswire