Thailand has been very specific and strict on what activities or businesses are allowed to operate in the country. Making sure that the country will develop and gain benefits as much as the businesses will benefit from what the country has to offer. So, before applying for a BOI promotion, one must check the eligible business activities allowed by Thailand. There are 8 categories that are allowed, this includes:Â
- Agriculture and Agricultural products
- Mining, Ceramics and Basic metals
- Light Industry
- Metal Products, Machinery and Transport Equipment
- Electronic Industry and Electric Appliances
- Chemicals, Paper and Plastics
- Service and Public Utilities
- Technology and Innovation Development
Each of the categories’ activities is specified in the table below. Also shown in the last part of the table are the knowledge-based activities allowed to operate in Thailand.
| Eligible Business Activities for BOI Promotions | |
| Agriculture and Agricultural Products | Manufacture of biological fertilizers, organic fertilizer, nano-coated organo-chemical fertilizer and bio-pesticides |
| Plant or animal breeding (only those that are not eligible for biotechnology activity) | |
| Crop dying and silo facilities | |
| Animal propagation or animal husbandry | |
| Slaughtering | |
| Deep sea fishery | |
| Grading, packaging and storage of plants, vegetables, fruits or flowers | |
| Manufacture of modified starch or starch made from plants that have special properties | |
| Manufacture of oil or fat from plants or animals | |
| Manufacture of natural extracts or products from natural extracts | |
| Manufacture of active ingredients from natural raw materials | |
| Tanneries or leather finishing | |
| Manufacture of natural rubber products (except for rubber bands, rubber balloons and rubber rings) | |
| Manufacture of products from agricultural by-products or agricultural waste (except for those with uncomplicated production processes, eg drying or dehydration) | |
| Manufacture of fuel from agricultural products, including agricultural scrap or garbage or waste | |
| Manufacture of preservation of food, beverages, food additives or food ingredients using modern technology | |
| Manufacture of medical food or food supplements | |
| Cold storage, or cold storage and cold storage transportation | |
| Trading center for agricultural goods | |
| Manufacture of animal feed production and animal food ingredients | |
| Manufacture of modern agricultural products or services related to modern agriculture | |
| Mining, Ceramics and Basic Metals | Prospecting of minerals |
| Potash mining and/or dressing | |
| Manufacture of advanced or nano materials or products produced from advanced or nano materials | |
| Manufacture of glass or ceramics products | |
| Manufacture of fire-resistant materials or heat insulation | |
| Manufacture of gypsum board or gypsum products | |
| Manufacture of up-stream steel, e.g. hot metal, pig iron, sponge iron, Direct Reduction Iron (DRI) and Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) | |
| Manufacture of intermediate steel, e.g. slab, billet and bloom | |
| Manufacture of down-stream steel | |
| Manufacture of steel pipes or stainless-steel pipes | |
| Manufacture of metal powder | |
| Manufacture of ferro-alloy | |
| Manufacture of cast iron/steel parts | |
| Rolling, drawing, casting or forging of non-ferrous metals | |
| Coil center | |
| Manufacture of construction materials and pre-stressed concrete for public utilities | |
| Light Industry | Manufacture of textile products or parts |
| Manufacture of non-woven fabric or hygienic products made of non-woven fabric | |
| Manufacture of bags or shoes or products made of leather or artificial leather | |
| Manufacture of sports equipment or parts | |
| Manufacture of musical instrument | |
| Manufacture of furniture or parts | |
| Manufacture of toys | |
| Manufacture of gems and jewelry or parts including raw material and prototype | |
| Manufacture of lenses | |
| Manufacture of medical devices or parts | |
| Metal Products, Machinery and Transport Equipment | Manufacture of metal products including metal parts |
| Surface treatment or anodized surface treatment (except coating or coloring treatment for decoration purpose) | |
| Heat treatment | |
| Manufacture of multi-purpose engines and equipment | |
| Manufacture of machinery, equipment and parts | |
| Manufacture of general automobile | |
| Manufacture of automobile engines | |
| Manufacture of vehicle parts | |
| Building or repair of ships | |
| Manufacture and/or repair of rolling stocks, parts or equipment for rail system | |
| Manufacture or repair of aircraft or aerospace devices and equipment | |
| Manufacture of motorcycles | |
| Manufacture of fuel cells | |
| Fabrication industry or platform repair for petroleum industry | |
| Manufacture of science equipment | |
| Manufacture and/or repair of vehicles and weapon systems for national defense | |
| Manufacture and/or repair of weapons and exercise-facilitating equipment for national defense and parts | |
| Manufacture and/or repair of combat facilitating equipment such as bullet-proof and flak-proof vests, armors or bullet-proof and flak-proof shields | |
| Electronic Industry and Electric Appliances | Manufacture of electrical products |
| Manufacture of parts and/or equipment used for electrical products | |
| Manufacture of electronic products | |
| Manufacture of parts and/or equipment used for electronic products | |
| Manufacture of material for microelectronics | |
| E-commerce | |
| Digital services | |
| Chemicals, Paper and Plastics | Manufacturing of chemical products for industry |
| Manufacture of eco-friendly chemicals or polymers or products from eco-friendly polymers | |
| Oil refinery | |
| Manufacture of petrochemicals | |
| Manufacture of specialty polymers or specialty chemicals | |
| Manufacture of plastic products for industrial goods | |
| Manufacture of plastic packages with special properties | |
| Manufacture of plastic products from recycled plastic | |
| Active pharmaceutical ingredients | |
| Manufacturing of medicines | |
| Manufacture of chemical fundamental fertilizers | |
| Manufacture of pulp or paper | |
| Manufacture paper articles | |
| Production of printed matter | |
| Manufacture of body care products, such as soap, shampoo, toothpaste and cosmetics | |
| Manufacture of plastic products for consumer goods | |
| Manufacture of products from pulp or paper | |
| Service and Public Utilities | Public utilities and basic services |
| Natural gas station | |
| Mass transit systems and transportation of bulk goods | |
| Logistics service centers | |
| Real estate development for industrial use | |
| Product sterilization services | |
| Recycling and reuse of unwanted materials | |
| Waste treatment or disposal | |
| Thai motion picture production | |
| Motion picture support services | |
| Tourism promotion services | |
| Activities to support tourism | |
| Medical services | |
| Development of labor’s accommodation in accordance with international standard | |
| Smart city area development business | |
| Smart city system development business | |
| Distribution center with smart system | |
| International Business Centre | |
| EV charging stations | |
| Housing projects for low-income earners | |
| Technology and Innovation Development | Targeted care technology development:
|
| Knowledge-Based Activities | Economic forest plantation (except for Eucalyptus) |
| Creative product design and development center | |
| Manufacture of aircraft or aircraft parts, such as airframe, critical parts, appliance equipment or other components | |
| Manufacture and/or repair of unmanned systems for national defense and parts used in the manufacture and/or repair | |
| Electronics design | |
| Software | |
| Production of electricity or electricity and steam from garbage or refuse-derived fuel | |
| Energy Service Company (ESCO) | |
| Food innovation industrial zone | |
| Industrial zone or technology zone | |
| Cloud service | |
| Research and development | |
| Bio and medical industries | |
| Advanced manufacturing industries | |
| Basic and supporting industries | |
| High-value services | |
| Creative and digital industries | |
| Biotechnology | |
| Engineering design | |
| Scientific laboratories | |
| Calibration services | |
| Human resources development | |
Now that you have knowledge of the specific businesses or activities allowed to operate in Thailand, is your business included in the list? If it is, are you interested in setting up your company in Thailand? And, if you are interested, know that we are interested in serving you in your journey of getting a BOI company.
This would be your chance to benefit from what BOI Thailand has to offer for you. The application for BOI Thailand promotion and certification is best done through a Thai law firm as it is a very complex procedure. For assistance and consultation, please contact Siam Legal International.
