Construction vs Manufacturing in Thailand: Assets and ROE 2026
In short
Manufacturing firms in Thailand carry average total assets of 163.7 million baht per company, versus just 23.2 million baht for construction firms, a gap of 7.07 times. Manufacturing's return on equity runs at 9.84 percent. Construction earns only 2.55 percent, so manufacturing's return is 3.85 times construction's. Construction still outnumbers manufacturing by company count, 283,534 registered firms against 230,396, as of 17 July 2026.
How do construction and manufacturing compare in assets and returns?
Manufacturing firms in Thailand carry average total assets of 163.7 million baht per company, compared with 23.2 million baht for construction firms, a gap of 7.07 times, according to the DBD registry (DBD, 2026). Average shareholder equity tells the same story: 75.1 million baht per manufacturing firm against 13.0 million baht per construction firm, a gap of 5.78 times. Manufacturing turns that capital into stronger returns too. Its return on equity runs at 9.84 percent, against 2.55 percent for construction, so manufacturing earns 3.85 times the return construction earns on every baht shareholders put in. Return on assets follows the same pattern, 4.52 percent for manufacturing against 1.43 percent for construction. Net margin runs 4.38 percent in manufacturing against 2.31 percent in construction. Construction still has more registered companies than manufacturing, 283,534 against 230,396, so the sector with fewer firms holds the larger share of the country's productive capital.
Average total assets per company, construction vs manufacturing
- Construction23
- Manufacturing164
Figures in million baht average assets per company.
Manufacturing's typical balance sheet is 7.07 times heavier than construction's. Plant and machinery sit on the books for years, subcontracted labor does not.
Construction and manufacturing side by side
| Metric | Construction | Manufacturing |
|---|---|---|
| Registered companies | 283,534 | 230,396 |
| Companies with filed financials | 162,154 | 148,775 |
| Average assets per company, THB | 23,150,779 | 163,685,245 |
| Average equity per company, THB | 12,997,758 | 75,133,547 |
| Average revenue per company, THB | 14,989,402 | 174,900,886 |
| Return on assets | 1.43% | 4.52% |
| Return on equity | 2.55% | 9.84% |
| Net margin | 2.31% | 4.38% |
| Top company by revenue | Italian Thai Development, 50.4 billion baht | PTT, 1.56 trillion baht |
Sector aggregates from filed financial statements, as of 17 Jul 2026.
Why the gap matters
The construction sector's real story is fragmentation. Thailand registers 23.1 percent more construction companies than manufacturers, and many of those firms are small subcontractors bidding job to job with little fixed capital tied up between projects. Public data on the sector shows how uneven that business can get. Construction output expanded 5.6 percent over the first nine months of 2025, but that headline hid a split, public infrastructure spending grew 10.2 percent while private building activity fell 2.0 percent over the same stretch, per Thailand's National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC, 2025). Manufacturing runs a different model. Plant and machinery sit locked in for years, funded with far more equity per firm, and that capital shows up in the return numbers above. PTT alone reported 1.56 trillion baht in revenue, about 31 times the top construction firm, Italian Thai Development, at 50.4 billion baht. Company counts favor construction. Scale, capital and return all favor manufacturing. Anyone comparing the two sectors on headcount of firms alone would miss where the money and the margin actually sit.
Definitions
- TSIC section
- One of the 21 lettered industry groupings in Thailand's Standard Industrial Classification. Manufacturing is section C, construction is section F.
- Return on equity, ROE
- Net profit as a share of shareholder equity, showing how much a company earns for each baht its owners have put in.
- Return on assets, ROA
- Net profit as a share of total assets, showing how much a company earns for each baht of assets it controls regardless of how those assets are funded.
- Net margin
- Net profit as a share of revenue. A five percent margin means five satang of profit for every baht of revenue.
- Average assets per company
- Total assets reported by companies that filed a financial statement in a section, divided by the number of those companies. Large firms pull this figure upward.
- Companies with filed financials
- Companies in a section that submitted a financial statement to the DBD with a usable revenue, profit, asset, or equity figure. Registered company counts include firms that never filed.
Assumptions
- Average assets, equity, and revenue per company use the mean, not the median, so a handful of very large firms such as PTT can pull a section's average well above what a typical firm holds.
- Return on assets, return on equity, and net margin are computed as section wide totals, profit or revenue summed across all reporting companies divided by the section total, rather than an average of each company's own ratio.
- Only companies with a filed financial statement contribute to the asset, equity, revenue, and profit figures. Registered company counts include firms that never filed.
- The manufacturing and construction sections each cover a wide range of sub industries, from small workshops to heavy industrial plants and from residential contractors to national infrastructure builders, so the section average blends very different business models.
Methodology
Figures are aggregate values for TSIC section C, manufacturing, and TSIC section F, construction, drawn from the DBD registry as of 17 July 2026. Average assets, equity, revenue, and net profit per company are computed only from companies that filed a financial statement with a usable figure. Return on assets, return on equity, and net margin are section wide aggregates, net profit or revenue summed across all reporting companies in the section divided by the section total, not an average of each company's own ratio. Registered company counts include all entities classified to the section regardless of whether they filed a statement.
How we verified this
- Recomputed the asset gap directly from raw values, 163685244.84 divided by 23150779.37, equal to 7.070, matching the reported 7.07 times.
- Recomputed the equity gap, 75133546.94 divided by 12997758.43, equal to 5.781 times.
- Recomputed the ROE gap, 9.84068591579 divided by 2.55361158646, equal to 3.854, matching the reported 3.85 times.
- Recomputed the ROA gap, 4.51760367954 divided by 1.43401645187, equal to 3.150 times.
- Recomputed the net margin gap, 4.37614950574 divided by 2.31363958546, equal to 1.891 times.
- Recomputed construction's company count advantage, 283534 divided by 230396 minus 1, equal to 23.07 percent more companies, rounded to 23.1 percent.
- Recomputed the top company revenue multiple, PTT's 1562341446477 baht divided by Italian Thai Development's 50368666000 baht, equal to 31.02, rounded to about 31 times.
- Recomputed the total sector revenue ratio, manufacturing's 25130983654714.83 baht divided by construction's 2325770560733.85 baht, equal to 10.81, confirming manufacturing generates over ten times construction's total revenue despite having fewer companies.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons and financial statement aggregates. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
- National Economic and Social Development Council. (2025). Thai economic performance in Q3 of 2025 and the outlook for 2025 to 2026. NESDC. https://www.nesdc.go.th/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/05-PRESSENG-Q3-2568-Final-1.pdf
Frequently asked questions
Which sector has bigger companies, construction or manufacturing?
Manufacturing. The average manufacturing company holds 163.7 million baht in assets, 7.07 times the 23.2 million baht held by the average construction company, as of 17 July 2026.
Which sector earns a better return, construction or manufacturing?
Manufacturing, by a wide margin. Its return on equity is 9.84 percent against 2.55 percent for construction, and its return on assets is 4.52 percent against 1.43 percent.
Which sector has more registered companies, construction or manufacturing?
Construction, with 283,534 registered companies against 230,396 for manufacturing, 23.1 percent more.
Why does manufacturing earn a higher return than construction?
Manufacturing firms fund far more equity per company and hold assets like plant and machinery that generate revenue for years, while construction firms operate on thinner capital, project based cash flow, and a large field of small subcontractors.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Construction vs Manufacturing in Thailand: Assets and ROE 2026. Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/construction-vs-manufacturing-companies-in-thailand-2026
Data & corrections
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Written by
Chatpong L.Founder, Max Data, Max Solutions Co., Ltd.
Chatpong L. leads Max Data, a company-intelligence platform built on Thailand's official business registry. He writes about the structure of the Thai economy using primary registry data. His work covers company formation, industry concentration, and regional business activity.
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This page reports company-level and aggregate statistics only. It names no individuals and makes no claims about any person. Figures are provided for information and may be revised as source data updates.