On 27 August 2026, Cholachit Vorawangso Virakul, Ph.D., Assistant Secretary General of the Eastern Economic Corridor Office (EECO), joined the panel discussion “Decoding The NEXT Investment: What Global Companies Really Want” at Techsauce Global Summit 2026, held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok. The session explored how global companies are reassessing investment destinations and how Thailand, particularly the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), is positioning itself to capture the next wave of investment in high-value and future-oriented industries.
The panel brought together representatives from the public, private, and international business sectors, including Ms.Vibeke Lyssand Leirvåg, Chairwoman of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand (JFCCT), and Mr.Montri Mahaplerkpong, Vice Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, Department of Economic and Academic Affairs. Mr.Kimmo Pekari, Special Adviser at the Embassy of Finland in Bangkok, moderated the discussion.
Addressing how global companies evaluate Southeast Asian investment destinations differently today compared with five years ago, Dr. Cholachit noted that investment decisions have become increasingly multidimensional. While cost competitiveness, fiscal incentives, and market size remain important, global companies are placing greater emphasis on supply chain resilience, infrastructure and energy readiness, availability of skilled talent, policy predictability, and the ability to operate sustainably. These factors increasingly determine where companies are prepared to make long-term commitments.
For Thailand, the competitive advantage extends beyond investment incentives. The country offers a well-established industrial ecosystem, strong manufacturing and supply chain capabilities, connectivity to regional markets, and an investment facilitation framework that supports companies from the pre-investment stage through actual business operations. Within this landscape, the EEC plays a key role in advancing Thailand from a traditional manufacturing base towards a strategic investment hub for technology-driven, innovative, and high-value industries.
Dr. Cholachit also highlighted Thailand’s decade-high investment momentum as a strong indication of continued investor confidence despite global economic and geopolitical uncertainties. EECO aims to capitalize on this momentum by strengthening the conditions that businesses need to invest and expand successfully, including infrastructure, technology, skilled human capital, clean energy, and effective investment facilitation.
The EEC is placing particular emphasis on five clusters: Medical and Healthcare, Digital, Next-Generation Automotive, the Bio-Circular-Green Economy (BCG), and Services. These sectors are expected to generate higher economic value, deepen domestic supply chains, and accelerate Thailand’s transition towards a technology- and innovation-driven economy.
Dr. Cholachit further emphasized that the latest investment application trends should be viewed not only in terms of investment value, but also as an indication of real business demand. Emerging investment patterns point towards growing demand for digital infrastructure, advanced technologies, next-generation mobility, healthcare and wellbeing solutions, as well as greener and more sustainable production. EECO’s role, therefore, goes beyond attracting capital; it is to create an ecosystem in which investments can grow, connect with Thai businesses, strengthen domestic capabilities, and generate sustainable long-term economic value.
EECO’s participation in Techsauce Global Summit 2026 provided an important platform to engage with international investors, technology companies, entrepreneurs, and global partners, while demonstrating the EEC’s readiness to serve as “The NEXT Investment Destination” — one that combines competitiveness, supply chain resilience, technological capability, and sustainable growth for global businesses.
