Page 28 - Introduction to Investment Laws in Thailand

Based on the upper-middle-income poverty line of 5.50 USD or about
75 THB per day, poverty rates in Thailand have decreased from
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approximately 65% in 1990 to around 8% in 2017 . Nonetheless, there are
concerns regarding the quality of learning and disparities between cities,
and increasing spatial inequality, with remote areas falling behind in
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economic and welfare indicators .
Thais are given access to basic education at the primary and secondary
levels. Nevertheless, one of Thailand’s key development challenges
includes weakness in education outcomes and skills matching, which risk
future productivity and chances of the younger generation.

Another important challenge in Thailand concerns socio-political
stability. Political uncertainty is perceived as one of the main factors
affecting foreign investment as well as economic growth.

1.3 Thailand’s International Obligations Concerning Foreign
Investment
As a member of the World Trade Organization since the 1st of January
1995, Thailand has commitments under several WTO agreements,
including the WTO general agreement on trade in services (GATS), WTO

Agreement on Trade- Related Investment Measure ( TRIMPs) , WTO
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measure (SCM), as well as
WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
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(TRIPs) .
Thailand signed its first BIT in 1961 with Germany. Up to June 2021,
Thailand is a party to 36 Bilateral Investment Treaties. As shown in Table

29 Judy Yang, "Reducing poverty and improving equity in Thailand: Why it still
matters"(online), 17 October 2019,
https://blogs.worldbank.org/eastasiapacific/reducing-poverty-and-improving-
equity-thailand-why-it-still-matters
30 World Bank, "Thailand's Overview"(online), op.cit.
31 The World Bank Group, 2019 Investment policy and regulatory review:
Thailand, Washington: The Worldbank Group, 2020,9

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