Important News I Research Institute/CILCA will take the lead in establishing an optoelectronic industrial park in Thailand

Project Background
In recent years, China's lighting exports have faced difficulties such as monetary tightening in major economies, high inflation and shrinking demand caused by economic recession. Energy crises and supply chain bottlenecks in various countries have continued to inhibit growth. In addition, during the epidemic, the "transfer substitution" effect of Chinese manufacturing to foreign countries has been weakened and other difficulties.


A series of black swan events such as Sino-US trade friction, the global COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical conflicts have caused countries around the world to be highly concerned about supply chain security. In the past, the global supply chain layout primarily considered efficiency, cost performance and return on investment. Today, the thinking is to prioritize the security, flexibility and redundancy of the supply chain. Under the new global theme of "development and security", Europe and the United States are radically promoting the reorganization of global industrial chains based on supplier diversification, localization, friendly shore outsourcing and near-shore production.


This is an increasingly real and cruel challenge for China's lighting industry, which has been fully and deeply embedded in the global industrial chain. The dilemma faced by lighting exports is not only the weakening of external demand, but also the impact caused by the spillover of the industrial chain. In this context, it is necessary and urgent for Chinese enterprises to deploy overseas production capacity. There is no doubt about the urgency.


The author believes that whether it is an enterprise that currently has an urgent need to establish overseas production capacity, or an enterprise that is planning for the long term, or even an enterprise that hopes to maintain/increase the value of its assets, "going out" has become a grand trend that is not dependent on anyone's will. It is not just about products, but also production capacity, industry, capital, and even brand and culture.


In view of this, Guangya Lighting Research Institute and CILCA International Lighting Chamber of Commerce successively organized hundreds of enterprises and institutions related to the lighting industry chain last year to conduct business inspections in Southeast Asian countries, hot spots for overseas production capacity layout, such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, etc., including visiting local industrial parks and industrial plots, understanding the local investment environment, visiting enterprises that have been put into production, and inspecting the local lighting market.

Project Overview
In order to comply with the general trend of the lighting industry chain moving abroad, which has become a prairie fire, and to provide landing services for related companies that intend to put production capacity in Southeast Asia. After comprehensive inspection and evaluation, we finally chose Thailand as the preferred destination for production capacity deployment. Guangya Lighting Research Institute will also take the lead in setting up an optoelectronic industrial park focusing on the lighting industry chain in Chonburi Province, located in Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), together with CILCA International Lighting Chamber of Commerce.


We are now recruiting the first batch of enterprises from all industries to settle in. Not only will they enjoy the best land prices, they will also receive full services in land, finance, law, construction, industry and commerce and other production capacity implementation (including ODI filing, BOI application, etc.).


For project details, please call:

Executive Vice President of Guangya Lighting Research Institute Wen Qidong 13693693135 (same number on WeChat)

Country Overview



The Kingdom of Thailand (The Kingdom of Thailand) is located in the south-central part of the Indochina Peninsula, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the southeast and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest and the Indian Ocean and the Andaman Sea to the southwest. It borders Myanmar to the west and northwest, Laos to the northeast, Cambodia to the east, and Malaysia to the south. Bangkok, the capital, is the second largest city in Southeast Asia.





Thailand's terrain is high in the north and low in the south. It has a land area of 513,000 square kilometers, which is slightly larger than Sichuan Province in my country. The coastline is 2,705 kilometers long. There are 77 provinces in the country. The total population is 67.9 million, which is equivalent to the population of Hunan Province in my country. There are more than 30 ethnic groups in the country. The Thai ethnic group is the main ethnic group, accounting for 40% of the total population. The rest also include Laotian, Chinese, Malay, etc. More than 90% of the people believe in Buddhism, and Thai is the national language.


Thailand is an emerging industrial country and a market economy. It implements liberal economic policies and is an export-oriented economy. It is the founding country of ASEAN and is located in the center of ASEAN. It has a relatively stable body, a high degree of policy transparency and trade liberalization, and an open and inclusive business environment. It is the second largest economy in ASEAN (after Indonesia), has strong radiation ability to neighboring countries, has good economic growth prospects, and has large market potential. Its GDP in 2022 will be US$495.3 billion, basically equivalent to the level of Shaanxi Province in my country.

Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC)


Manufacturing companies are currently mainly located in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) along Highway 7, which is currently being built in Thailand. It is now Thailand’s only national-level special economic zone, focusing on the development of the three eastern provinces close to the capital Bangkok, namely Chachoengsao and Chonburi. Buri) and Rayong, close to the famous Laem Chabang deep-water port, Southeast Asia's largest Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, and the world-renowned tourist resorts Bangkok and Pattaya, is the Thai government's new flagship development project under the "Thailand 4.0" project, aiming to develop into an important industrial and investment center in Asia. At present, the production capacity of dozens of Chinese lighting companies is distributed here.

Characteristics of lighting product exports to Thailand in recent years


In recent years, especially since 2020, China's lighting product exports to Thailand have shown rapid growth. In 2022, China's exports to Thailand have reached US$1.36 billion, more than three times that of ten years ago. Among them, lighting intermediates are nearly US$170 million, more than four times that of ten years ago. Their proportion in total exports has also increased from the previous lowest of less than 8.5% to a record high of 13.1% in 2023. Especially after 2019, the proportion of lighting intermediates has increased significantly.

On the one hand, this reflects the rapid social and economic development of ASEAN emerging economies represented by Thailand in recent years and the significant increase in the activity of China-ASEAN bilateral trade. On the other hand, it also shows the trend of part of the lighting industry chain gradually spilling over from China to Southeast Asia in the context of Sino-US trade frictions.

Comparison of manufacturing costs in Southeast Asian countries with domestic ones

What is BOI?
BOI (Board of Investment), the Thai Investment Promotion Board;

1. BOI is not just synonymous with tax incentives. The investment incentives provided by BOI include tax incentives and non-tax incentives. Non-tax incentives include allowing land ownership, allowing the introduction of foreign skilled technicians and professionals to work in projects, allowing foreigners to enter to understand the investment environment and policies, etc.;


2. The tax benefits of BOI are not just income tax exemptions. The tax benefits provided by BOI also include exemptions from import taxes on machines, import taxes on raw materials or materials, deductions for freight, electricity and water charges, etc.;


3. Not all industry projects in the investment rights and interests preferential catalog can receive BOI discounts. BOI will also comprehensively evaluate the value of the project based on product added value, production technology, machine usage, project environmental protection, employment creation, and enhanced industrial competitiveness;

4. The maximum income tax-free period for BOI tax incentives is more than 8 years. In fact, it can You can apply for a tax holiday of more than 10 years in remote provinces based on the project value;

5. Not all projects that obtain BOI investment preferential rights and interests can enjoy income tax reduction and exemption. There is no income tax reduction for B1 and B2 level projects (except for those that enjoy additional rights and interests based on the project value);


6. Obtaining BOI preferential rights is not a one-and-done thing. BOI will review the project within 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after opening to ensure that the project is carried out according to the application plan;


7. BOI preferential rights can be canceled. If the actual situation of the project does not match the application materials, BOI has the right to cancel the preferential rights;


8. Although projects that obtain BOI preferential rights and interests can be exempted from income tax, they cannot be exempted from value-added tax. The value-added tax rate in Thailand is 7%. Special attention should be paid to projects with large turnover ratio and small profits;


9. The application and registration period for BOI is between six months and three months. The official has clearly stipulated the acceptance and response dates for each stage. Most applicants for BOI projects Time is wasted in preparing and supplementing materials;


10. BOI adopts process monitoring, especially in the first three years, it continuously tracks the progress of the project. Therefore, the materials for applying for BOI must not exaggerate the facts. Write as much as you can, otherwise it will be very difficult to apply for modification of relevant materials immediately in the future.

Why choose Thailand?
1. Thailand’s political situation is currently relatively stable, its economy continues to develop, and it is relatively friendly to China and the United States. The government, especially the Eastern Economic Corridor, will also regard attracting foreign investment as an important matter for economic development;

2. Compared with domestic countries, Thailand has significant advantages in export tariffs to the United States. At the same time, domestic lighting manufacturers have overseas production capacity and have certain business advantages when facing large American customers;

3. Compared with the southeastern coast of China, Thailand has certain advantages in the cost of purchasing land, labor, energy, etc.; land can be held permanently and the holding cost is not high (real estate tax of 0.8 yuan/square meter per year). Under effective management, workers can be close to the efficiency of domestic front-line workers;

4. Thailand has a low investment threshold, BOI companies can hold 100% of the shares, industrial parks provide one-stop services, foreign exchange controls are loose, capital transactions are convenient, and the overall business environment is among the best in Southeast Asia;

5. China and Thailand currently have mutual visa exemptions, numerous flights, and the China-Thailand high-speed railway is also under full construction. Personnel exchanges are convenient and fast, and economic and trade interactions are increasing. Frequent;

6. Thailand's current lighting supply chain is imperfect, and many ancillary products other than packaging materials need to be self-produced or imported. However, with the influx of a large number of Chinese manufacturing companies, it is foreseeable that the industrial chain will gradually improve.