THAILAND

Boost in Foreign Investment Sought: Thailand, facing a sharp fall in inward foreign investment, has announced plans to attract new investors and ease congestion in Bangkok by refining tax incentives and putting more emphasis on development in the provinces. Approaches by foreign investors to the Board of Investment (BoI) fell for the third year in a row in 1992, with the value of foreign capital registered in new applications dropping to $471 million from nearly $978 million in 1991. The total value of proposed investments in domestic and foreign applications fell by a quarter to $8.34 billion. Although actual investment in 1992 remained high--reflecting earlier applications--Thai officials are anxious to ensure a steady inflow of foreign money to finance the next stage of the country’s industrial development.