China · Japan · Nation Thailand
Japanese investment shifts as Singapore takes FDI lead
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Japanese investors are not abandoning Thailand, but their role in the economy is changing as Singapore and China gain ground, the automotive sector moves towards electric vehicles and Japanese companies redirect new capital into digital and higher-te
Key facts
- Singapore accounted for US$103.67 billion, or 25.5% of the total, overtaking Japan as Thailand’s largest source of accumulated FDI by country for the first time.
- The question of a possible Japanese retreat intensified in mid-August after a senior Toyota Motor Thailand executive publicly questioned whether the advantages accumulated by Thailand’s automotive production base over more than 60 years
- Japan’s FDI stock stood at US$100.55 billion, representing 24.8% of the total
- This represented only 1.2% of Thailand’s total net FDI inflow of US$18.53 billion and placed Japan ninth among individual economies.
- Japanese inflows reached US$864 million, equivalent to 30.4% of Thailand’s total net FDI of US$2.85 billion during the quarter
- Thailand’s total foreign direct investment stock stood at US$405.80 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2026, equivalent to about 13.4 trillion baht at an exchange rate of approximately 33.1 baht to the US dollar.
Summary
The question of a possible Japanese retreat intensified in mid-August after a senior Toyota Motor Thailand executive publicly questioned whether the advantages accumulated by Thailand’s automotive production base over more than 60 years would remain intact over the next 10 to 20 years.
Indonesia has also publicly courted manufacturers with offers of wide-ranging support, adding to concerns that Japanese companies deeply embedded in Thailand’s economy could begin shifting production elsewhere in Southeast Asia.