The central bank is playing down concerns about a steep drop in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first half, saying it was partly due to a withdrawal of investment in terms of equity in one foreign company.
Bank of Thailand governor Veerathai Santiprabhob said that if the net FDI figure excluded the outflow of equity, the drop would not have been as large as 90%.
"The significant dip in FDI was partly due to the Big C deal worth about US$3.5 billion in which foreign investors sold their equity to Thai investors and repatriated those funds," he said.
Mr Veerathai also said the FDI figure has no effect on current economic activities.
He clarified the figures after central bank data released on Monday showed the biggest drop in FDI since 2005.
The report blamed poor FDI on the lacklustre global economy, political uncertainty in Thailand and the structure of Thai industry, which continues to produce low-technology products even as wages rise relative to neighbouring countries.
Roong Mallikamas, a senior director of the central bank's macroeconomic and monetary policy department, said that if the Big C transaction was excluded, net FDI in the first half would not have been substantially lower than in the same period last year.
"This transaction had a high value and was booked as FDI outflows," she said.
Mrs Roong said lower FDI was not alarming because of a high base effect in early 2015 associated with considerable FDI inflows to the telecommunications sector for increased capital investment.
Reduced trade credit of affiliated companies in line with a decline in Thailand's import value was another factor.