Updated
Updated · Bangkok Post · Aug 17
Citi Urges Thailand to Speed Investment Push as 65% of Multinationals Rewire Supply Chains
Updated
Updated · Bangkok Post · Aug 17

Citi Urges Thailand to Speed Investment Push as 65% of Multinationals Rewire Supply Chains

1 articles · Updated · Bangkok Post · Aug 17

Summary

  • Thailand needs a sharper economic strategy, faster government procedures and steadier policy settings to win more global investment as companies relocate production, Citi said.
  • A late-2025 Citi survey of 710 large multinationals found 65% were actively diversifying supply chains; Thailand ranked second in the region at 17%, behind Vietnam's 25%.
  • Citi said Thailand should target scale, speed and stability—building depth in higher-value sectors such as autonomous software, bio-green products and medical tourism, where it already has about 60 internationally accredited hospitals.
  • The bank argued Thailand's neutrality, large international reserves and digital economy growth of 5%-7% a year are advantages, even as AI is expected to rewrite about 22% of jobs over five years.

Insights

Why is Thailand still losing the foreign investment race to Vietnam despite its new high-tech strategy and fast-track approvals?
As AI reshapes industries, can Thailand upgrade its workforce fast enough to become Asia's next true innovation hub?
Will the rush to dominate EV and semiconductor supply chains sacrifice Thailand's environmental governance for quick foreign capital?