The Department of Business Development (DBD) projects an increase in new registered businesses by 2-4%, reaching between 90,000 and 95,000 this year, with lifestyle, innovation, and business management identified as key growing sectors.
Auramon Supthaweethum, the DBD’s director-general, noted that despite the expected growth, several factors could affect new business registrations. Geopolitical tensions, a global economic slowdown, trade conflicts, and potential impacts of US policies under President Donald Trump may raise concerns for investors and new business founders.
To foster business development, the DBD will focus on incorporating modern technology this year. A new Digital Business Registration System was launched earlier this month, and an online registration platform for trade associations and chambers of commerce will be introduced shortly. The aim is to provide fully digital services by the end of the year.
Additionally, the DBD plans to reduce government document requirements by integrating corporate data with 25 relevant agencies by 2025, aiming for full coverage with all 74 agencies by 2027.
In terms of business governance, the DBD is developing an Intelligent Business Analytic System to enable close monitoring of businesses potentially engaging in illegal activities, allowing for prompt intervention against nominee operations.
In 2024, new business registrations increased by 2.69% year-on-year, totaling 87,596, while the total registered capital dropped by 49.2% to over 285 billion baht. The most common types of newly registered businesses included general building construction (6,636 firms with total registered capital of 14.8 billion baht), property developers (6,542 firms with total registered capital of 30.3 billion baht), and restaurants (4,025 firms with total registered capital of 8.12 billion baht), representing 7.58%, 7.47%, and 4.59% of new business registrations, respectively.
During the same period, 15 new businesses were registered with capital exceeding 1 billion baht, collectively investing 45.5 billion baht in sectors such as data centers, construction, retail, wholesale, and healthcare.
Mrs. Auramon highlighted that the overall statistics for business registrations and closures in 2024 remained positive, partly driven by the recovering tourism industry during peak season, which has led to increased employment rates.
The DBD is also analyzing data to identify businesses with high growth potential and to spotlight “rising star” businesses to watch in 2025. This analysis is based on internal statistics from the past year, trends in business growth, and performance metrics like revenue and profit.
The most promising emerging businesses focus on lifestyle and human behavior, particularly in enhancing physical and mental well-being. These include tourism and family activity businesses, health and wellness services, pet-related ventures, spiritual services, film production, and renovation and decoration companies.
Furthermore, sectors related to innovation and technology are on the rise, including data centers, software development, and e-commerce. Additionally, business management-related firms such as accounting, legal, outsourcing, and environmental consulting services are also seen as promising.
