During this crisis period, corporate consolidation to
improve financial positions and to ensure survival in the
domestic market was essential for the parent companies.
Consequently, many Thai enterprises reduced their outward
FDI activities. The development of Thai outward FDI at
this stage was characterized by a significant narrowing of
the gap between outflows of funds (i.e. outflows of equity
and disbursement of intra-company loans to Thai firms
abroad) and inflows (i.e. repatriation of equity and
repayment of intra-company loans by Thai firms abroad to
parent company in Thailand) (figure 2).6 This suggests that
funds were more actively repatriated by Thai affiliates
abroad because of the pressing financial position of the