In recent years, Thailand's political climate has been characterised by tension and instability. Much of this tension is based on both cases and accusations of corruption as well as the issue of governmental legitimacy. Thailand is generally considered to be a business-friendly economy and has for several years been able to offer favourable investment incentives to foreign companies, such as tax exemptions, especially if the investment includes new technology or is located in a less developed area, and good investment protection compared to many other countries in the region. However, Thailand's investment climate continues to suffer from several obstacles. Companies consider corruption to be a large barrier to doing business in Thailand, along with hidden costs related to red tape, government and policy instability, and inefficient government bureaucracy.

Positive developments in relation to corruption and investment:

• Thailand has the legal framework to effectively counter corruption.
• The new Constitution of 2007 contains provisions about access to public information. The access to information is normally provided to citizens and the right is exercised without restrictions unless it is related to national security and public safety.
• The Government of Thailand has recently pledged publicly to combat corruption within the procurement and contracting sector, such as to improve transparency in the bidding processes and rewarding of contracts.

Risks of corruption:

• Corruption is reportedly a significant problem in Thailand, both within the private and public sectors, but it is mainly found in the intersection between business and government where demands for facilitation payments are widespread.
• Bribery is particularly concentrated in a few governmental sectors in charge of large financial transactions: the Land Department, Tax and Customs Department, the Transport Department, and the Police Department.
• The main source of corruption in Thailand is considered to be money politics, meaning the flow of money within the political scene, stemming from the high degree of interconnectedness existing between the business sector and the political system.
• There are examples of dishonest individuals illegally obtaining personal information about people by fraudulently claiming to be handling tax documents on behalf of clients. There are also examples of companies making up extra expenses in order to pay lower taxes.