While most Thai outward FDI is in the form of greenfield
investment, Thai enterprises are also entering foreign markets
through M&As (table 5).8 Market entry through M&A remains
limited compared with firms from other mature developing
economies, but it shows the increasing financial capability of
Thai firms to acquire foreign assets abroad. M&A purchases by
Thai enterprises dropped considerably in the crisis impact stage,
particularly in the period 1997-1998. Most M&A purchases
before, during and after the financial crisis were in Asia, namely
ASEAN, China and Hong Kong (China) and in the services sector
(finance, investment, transport and communication) (table 6).