Enterprise internationalization through outward FDI is
not new for Thailand. Thai outward FDI dates back to at least
as far as the 1950s (e.g. Bangkok Bank), but remained limited
during the first three decades. A lack of understanding in
conducting international business, a restrictive outward FDI
regulatory framework (foreign exchange control) and the limited
number of Thai enterprises with the capability to
internationalize, including the lack of ownership advantages,
accounted for the low level of overseas investment in the early
period. Outward FDI from Thailand became more prominent
only after the late 1980s (figure 2). Four distinctive phases of
Thai outward FDI can be discerned2: