New Tax Incentives on Thai ESG and Commitments to Build Data Centers
Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira outlined the Government of Thailand's tax incentives policy to promote a low-carbon economy and attract investment in environmentally friendly businesses. Under the existing Thailand Voluntary Emission Reduction program, the Ministry of Finance provides measures to promote carbon credit transactions through the exemption of corporate income tax on net profits on the sale of carbon credits. Other measures include promoting investment in the Thai ESG (environmental, social and governance) Fund, and a low excise tax for vehicles that emit less carbon dioxide,
Thailand is also becoming another hotspot in ASEAN for investment in digital infrastructure projects (such as data centers) by multinational corporations. Microsoft's announcement in early May of its investment in a new regional data center in Thailand is expected to enhance the country's digital ecosystem and could fuel competition in the AI sector. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is also ready to launch its new data center region in Thailand by early next year as part of a commitment announced in 2022. AWS held the AWS Bangkok summit on May 30th, during which AWS reiterated its plan to invest more than $5 billion (~190 billion baht) in Thailand by 2037. Acknowledging how AWS’ investment aligns with the government’s "Cloud First" initiative, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin verbalized his administration’s commitment to working with AWS to turn Thailand into a leading digital economy and enable the growth of thousands of Thai businesses with digital skills and tools.