He said that Thailand's hospitality sector was attracting a variety of investors. Institutional investors are focused on the hotel and leisure industry and the commercial sector, while corporate investors like the residential segment. Deals can be as 100%-owned firms, joint ventures or acquisitions of listed companies.

Most foreign investors are from the Middle East, Europe, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. Mr Patima said that foreign investors remained concerned about potential changes to the Foreign Business Act. Many investors had structured their companies to reduce their foreign holdings to a minority stake, he added. But foreign investors often have difficulty finding Thai partners for largescale investments, meaning they have to operate businesses on a leasehold basis.

He said the current law allowed 30 years of legal leaseholding, which can be extended twice to a total of 90 years. But in practice, Land Department officials record only the first 30-year lease and the extensions, usually made privately between the two parties, is not officially registered. Foreign investors view the practice as not concrete enough to safeguard their investments.

For commercial and industrial purposes, leases can be made under the 1999 Real Estate Leasing for Commercial and Industrial Act. The lease law allows 50-year lease agreements plus a 50-year renewal for leasing activities of properties located in red and brown zones under the Town Planning Act.

Hotels are exempt from foreign ownership restrictions, and can be 100% foreign owned if they have over 100 rooms in zones promoted by the Board of Investment. ''We are doing feasibility studies on empty plots in BoI zones for hotel developments. We should know more by the end of this year whether they will be finalised.''

He said foreign investors who planned investments under US$100 million may move ahead with their projects despite the political and economic uncertainties. But larger investments are being delayed as investors take a wait-and-see approach.