Doing deals in Thailand

M&A activity in Thailand has risen consistently over recent years. As an established destination for inbound foreign investment, Thailand’s M&A will remain strong due to a number of tailwinds including the government’s ‘Thailand 4.0 Economic Plan’, the ongoing integration of the ASEAN Economic Community and the country’s continued development from an emerging economy to a stronger regional and global player. The significant increase in outbound M&A by a variety of Thai conglomerates is a further testament to the strength and opportunities of businesses in Thailand, which remains attractive to multinational corporations from developed economies seeking growth, along with Private Equity funds who see Southeast Asia as an increasingly attractive destination.

The underlying macro-economic fundamentals are relatively healthy supported by low inflation, strong current account position, healthy international reserves and low external debt. The banking system is well capitalized, unemployment rate remains very low although there are shortages of skilled labor in some sectors especially as we move towards ‘Thailand 4.0 Economic Plan’ and public infrastructure investment and government spending are also accelerating.

In this publication, KPMG in Thailand’s senior Deal Advisory experts share their perspectives on the M&A market and its outlook. We have also incorporated the valuable insights of many of KPMG’s leading domestic and international clients who have recently undertaken M&A projects in Thailand – both successfully and unsuccessfully – who shared their insights on the process, challenges and opportunities via a survey and interviews. We express our sincere gratitude to all survey participants, for their time and valuable contributions to the study.