Which Businesses Can Apply for BOI Promotion: 10 Eligible Categories, Privilege Groups A1+ to B and Minimum Conditions

First rule: the activity must be on the list

The BOI does not promote every business that invests a lot of money. It promotes only activities named in the list of eligible activities. The list currently in use is Board of Investment Notification No. 9/2565, applied together with Notification No. 8/2565 on policy and criteria. Both apply to applications filed on or after 3 January B.E. 2566 (2023).

The list is amended from time to time. Between B.E. 2568 and 2569 (2025 to 2026), several notifications amended the conditions of various activities, and Notification No. 4/2568 added a requirement that the production process be modern and substantial enough. Before filing an application, always check the activity's conditions against the latest notification, not against a summary published several years ago.

The 10 categories in the list

Each category is divided into sub-activities, such as one type of product or one kind of service, and each activity sets its own privilege group and conditions. Two manufacturing activities in the same category can therefore receive very different privileges.

Examples of activities foreign investors often ask about

This table gives examples from the list and is not exhaustive. Manufacturing activities in categories 1 to 6 have many sub-activities, and the privilege group depends on the product. The digital and service activities that foreign investors are most interested in are covered separately in the BOI guide for software, digital businesses and IBC.

Activities not on the list

If an activity is not named on the list, it cannot apply for promotion, however much is invested. The most common case is buying and reselling. The current list does not promote trading as a stand-alone activity. Trading is promoted only when it is part of an activity the list opens up: an IBC must trade alongside its core services to affiliated companies, and software development under item 8.1.1 excludes retail and wholesale sales from its scope.

For a business that does not fit the list, the remaining routes for a foreign company are a foreign business licence, the Treaty of Amity with the United States for American investors, or a business outside the lists attached to the Foreign Business Act. These are compared in the guide to 100% foreign ownership in Thailand.

Privilege groups A1+ to B

Every group receives the non-tax privileges under the Investment Promotion Act: bringing in foreign skilled workers and experts together with their spouses and dependants (Section 25), permission to work in approved positions (Section 26), ownership of land for the promoted business (Section 27), and remittance of money abroad in foreign currency (Section 37).

The income tax exemption period runs from the date the promoted business first earns income (Section 31), and dividends from a business exempt from income tax need not be included in the calculation of tax (Section 34).

Additional privileges based on project merit and location

Notification No. 10/2565 grants an additional 1 to 5 years of income tax exemption for projects that invest or spend on matters beneficial to the country: research and development, fees for using domestically developed technology, design, support for science and technology institutions, advanced skills training or accepting interns, and development of local entrepreneurs. A project that spends on research and development of not less than 1% of sales in its first three years, or THB 200 million, may receive a total tax exemption of up to 13 years with no cap.

Location also matters. A project located in a promoted industrial estate or industrial zone receives 1 additional year of income tax exemption, and a project in one of the 20 provinces with low per capita income receives 3 additional years. The total tax exemption period must not exceed 13 years.

Minimum conditions that apply to almost every project

• Minimum investment: not less than THB 1 million, excluding land and working capital, unless the activity sets otherwise. Some knowledge-based activities use annual staff wages as the test instead.
• Value added: not less than 20% of revenue. Some activities, such as agriculture and food, and electronics and parts, use 10%.
• Debt-to-equity ratio: not more than 3 to 1 for new projects.
• Machinery: must be new. Used machinery from abroad that is not more than 5 years old is allowed with a certificate of performance. Machinery more than 5 years old but not more than 10 years old is allowed but does not count toward the tax exemption cap, and used machinery receives no import duty exemption.
• ISO 9000 or ISO 14000 standard: for projects with an investment of THB 10 million or more, it must be obtained within 2 years of the project starting full operation. If it is not, the tax exemption period is cut by 1 year.
• Feasibility study report: required for projects with an investment of more than THB 2,000 million.

Foreign shareholding

Item 7 of Notification No. 8/2565 requires that, for activities in List One attached to the Foreign Business Act, Thai nationals hold not less than 51% of the shares. List One includes rice farming, crop and orchard farming, animal farming and fishing in Thai waters. Some agricultural activities in category 1 must therefore be structured with Thai majority ownership. Activities in List Two and List Three have no limit on foreign shareholding unless the Board sets otherwise.

Some measures are intended specifically for Thai small and medium-sized enterprises, such as the SME measure that reduces the minimum investment to THB 500,000 but requires Thai nationals to hold not less than 51% of the shares and a majority of the authorized directors to be Thai. Foreign companies therefore cannot use these measures.

Sequence for checking whether your business can apply for BOI

1. State clearly what the company will do: what it will produce or what service it will provide, to whom, and which steps will be carried out in Thailand.
2. Find the matching activity in Notification No. 9/2565 and the latest amending notifications.
3. Read that activity's specific conditions, such as minimum investment or wages, required production processes and the deadline to begin operation.
4. Check the general conditions: value added, debt-to-equity ratio, machinery and ISO standards.
5. Check whether the activity falls under List One of the Foreign Business Act, to know what shareholding is possible.
6. Look at the additional privileges based on project merit and location, and only then decide on the project location.

Checklist

1. The chosen activity is named in the latest version of the list.
2. You know the activity's privilege group and its tax exemption cap.
3. The minimum investment or wages are met.
4. Value added, the debt-to-equity ratio and machinery meet the conditions.
5. The foreign shareholding can be done as planned.
6. You plan to obtain the ISO standard if the investment is THB 10 million or more.
7. You have considered the additional privileges from research, training and location.

Further reading

• BOI application process, from filing to receiving the promotion certificate
• Ways for foreigners to hold 100% of the shares in Thailand
• BOI for software companies, digital businesses and IBC
• After receiving a BOI promotion certificate: conditions you must meet
• Foreign investors in Thailand: an overview of the key laws
• Services: BOI and foreign investor legal advisory
• Services: Business plan writing