Thailand's investment agency said on June 18th, 2014 it approved applications for 18 projects worth about THB 120 billion (US$ 3.7 billion), mainly in the auto industry, at its first board meeting after the May 22nd military coup.

The largest approval was for Toyota, which plans to spend THB 51.5 billion for production of pickup trucks and parts, the Board of Investment (BOI) said in a statement.

The meeting was chaired by the junta's leader, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha.

Also approved were a tyre production project worth THB 18.9 billion by LLIT (Thailand), the BOI said.

Another approved plan was for investment of THB 9.2 billion by a joint venture of SAIC Motor of China and Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Group, for car production.

Thailand is a regional vehicle production and export base for the world's top car manufacturers. Domestic auto sales in Thailand tumbled 38% in May from a year earlier, the Federation of Thai Industries said.

One approved plan, from Luxemburg's Supernap International's, is for a THB 6.9 billion investment in a data centre.

The projects endorsed at the meeting are among big applications awaiting approval. The military government said early this month that backlogged applications for local and foreign investors to invest more than US$ 21 billion would be acted on within two months.

The army seized power in a bid to restore order and business confidence after months of political unrest hurt consumption and investment.

The total value of investment applications fell 42% to THB 308 billion in the first five months of this year from a year earlier. Within that, foreign investment requests dropped 10% to THB 230 billion.

The junta has announced measures it hopes will get the sputtering economy going again. It is seeking to fast-track infrastructure spending, which has been derailed by the political crisis. On June 18th, Thailand's central bank cut this year's growth forecast nearly by half to 1.5% but it saw a much brighter 2015 as the military government tries to reinvigorate the economy.