The Board of Investment (BoI) is optimistic that Thailand's automotive and electronics subcontracting industry will remain vibrant with higher exports.
Sonklin Ploymee, director of the BoI Unit for Industrial Linkage Development (Build), said international markets for automotive and electronics remained promising thanks to strong and reputable supply chains developed over many decades here.
The Asean Economic Community, which is due to take effect late this year, will be a major driver to attract foreign direct investment to emerging countries such as Indonesia, Myanmar and Laos, which is good for Thai automotive and electronics subcontractors.
"The automotive industry in Indonesia, for instance, is growing, but the supply chain in that country has not yet been developed enough," Ms Sonklin said. "This is a huge opportunity for Thai manufacturers [subcontractors] to support foreign car makers there."
She said the BoI was upbeat that the automotive and electronics subcontracting industry would grow by 10-15% this year to 52-54 billion baht due to higher exports, notably to Asean members.
Thailand has long been considered one of the world's most attractive subcontracting destinations. Large multinational corporations in a wide range of industries look to Thailand for low-cost, high-quality production of electronics components, metal parts, polymers, rubber and more.
It actively promotes and develops Thailand's supporting industries in order to maximise the industrial competitiveness of the country.