New business registrations in January exceeded 7,900, the highest in 10 years, with strong growth in companies catering to the booming demand for herbal medicine for Covid-19 treatment.
Thosapone Dansuputra, director-general of the Department of Business Development, said on Friday that 7,972 companies were registered nationwide last month, an increase of 9% from a year earlier.
It was the highest number in 10 years. Their total registered capital exceeded 29 billion baht.
The largest number were construction companies, followed by property development and cargo and passenger transport.
Mr Thosapone said business registrations normally increased at the beginning of each year. This year, the biggest increase was in the business of herb cultivation, as consumers demanded herbs and herbal medicine following the arrival of Covid-19.
Twenty-four new herb-related companies were registered in January. This compared with three in January last year - a seven-fold increase. At the end of January, there were 306 such companies with a combined capital of 2.17 billion baht, the director-general said.
As of Jan 31, there were 816,033 companies registered, up 5.26% year-on-year, with a total capital of 19 trillion baht. Last month 999 companies shut down, a decline of 10% year-on-year.
Mr Thosapone expected 70,000-75,000 business registrations in 2022 as the economic outlook improved and disease controls were eased. Last year his department registered 72,958 businesses.
