Minister of Industry Akanat Promphan has ordered a crackdown on unauthorized factories, known as “zero-coin industries,” while directing agencies to expand support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Speaking to the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) leadership last week, the Minister outlined an urgent plan to streamline regulations, remove barriers to investment, and promote legal and productive industrial growth.
The plan places emphasis on the strict enforcement of Section 39 of the Factory Act, which aims to shut down factories that operate without generating real economic value and often cause pollution and waste mismanagement. A draft Industrial Waste Management Act, now under parliamentary review, is expected to provide additional enforcement tools. The IEAT was also ordered to tighten environmental and product standards, with a particular focus on industrial waste.
Licensing procedures are currently under review to eliminate legal gaps, particularly those related to foreign labor permits, and to prevent overlapping authority between the IEAT and the Department of Industrial Works. Under the directive, industrial zones must be approved quickly but shut down just as fast if violations occur.
Despite support from the Board of Investment (BOI), sluggish GDP growth has underscored the need for structural change. Akanat called on the IEAT to act beyond regulation by clearing obstacles to legitimate investment, resolving zoning issues, and proposing new incentives to draw businesses into designated estates.
Top officials, including Permanent Secretary Nattapol Rangsitpol, IEAT Chairman Yuthasak Supasorn, and IEAT Governor Sumet Tangprasert, pledged to carry out the plan. Expanding industrial space for SMEs is a key part of the strategy to replace illegal operations and restore value to Thailand’s industrial landscape.
Source: NNT
Akanat Takes Aim at Illegal Factories While Strengthening Support for SMEs
