(Dec 19): Thai companies are set to snap up more assets overseas in the coming years as cash-rich large businesses look beyond a sluggish local economy to fuel future growth, according to one of the world’s largest law firms.

Family-owned conglomerates and other listed companies are likely to increase outbound investments, particularly in energy, financial services, real estate, hospitality and retail sectors, said Waranon Vanichprapa, Thailand country managing partner at DLA Piper.

Thai companies have announced deals worth about US$107 billion (RM502.3 billion) to acquire assets overseas since 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The acquisition spree, led by Chirathivat family’s Central Group, billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont’s Charoen Pokphand Group, Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi’s TCC Group and state-owned PTT Pcl, has given Thai companies a foothold in retail, beverage and energy sectors from Vietnam to Europe and the US.

“You can’t look at Thai conglomerates as Thai companies anymore. They’re global or regional companies,” said Waranon, adding that DLA Piper had recently helped local companies complete deals in Brunei, Vietnam, Mexico, the US and Germany. “Thai conglomerates have expanded overseas heavily in the past 15 years.”

The push for overseas expansion comes amid a tepid recovery in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy — clocking an average growth rate of about 1.9% in the past decade. Adding to the bleak outlook is a near-record high household debt and widening public debt amid the highest interest rate in a decade.

A slumping local stock market, which entered a bear territory this month after foreign funds pulled more than US$5 billion this year, is clouding the outlook for businesses as well. Investors have dumped Thai stocks on concerns over a potential rise in government debt due to a populist cash handout plan by the new government of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.

While Srettha has gone all out to woo foreign investors in sectors from electric vehicles to electronics and new energy, there have been few acquisitions by foreign firms in Thailand in recent years.

Waranon sees the drop in foreign direct investment into Thailand as “a little bit worrying.”

Global firms across industries such as energy, telecom and retail have either exited Thailand or merged their businesses with local companies in recent years. Tesco Plc sold its retail operations to CP Group, Exxon Mobil Corp sold its refining and retailing unit Esso (Thailand) Pcl to rival Bangchak Corp, while Telenor ASA merged its mobile phone service unit with CP Group’s True Corp. Citigroup Inc sold its retail banking unit in Thailand among other Southeast Asian markets to Singapore’s UOB Group.

The exodus impacts non-Thai investors’ overall impression of Thailand, said Waranon, who’s also DLA Piper’s head of finance, projects and restructuring in Asia.

“Except for the Chinese companies setting up their EV plants, we haven’t seen a lot of massive-value, giant deals coming to Thailand,” he said. “The departure of several large companies could cause investors to wonder why.”