ThailandInvestmentGuide

There have been many prior threads on the subject of minor children being listed as the owners of land. I would suggest that those who are interested do a forum search to try to locate some of these, as this current thread so far features more misinformation than information. Try search words like "minors owning land" "children buying land" etc and similar and see what comes up. Also look out for articles in some of the web sites maintained by reputable Thai law firms, including for example samuiforsale.com.

This particular approach to securing/holding Thai land will not suit everyone who has a Thai child due to several features that (depending on your specific individual circumstances) may be major drawbacks, and a couple of these have been mentioned in this thread.

It also bears repeating/remembering that what one person is told by a particular staffer in one land office does not make it law, nor does it mean that someone would receive the same 'information' in another land office. In other words research/consult widely before making a decision, and take any one source with a large grain of salt.

There have been many prior threads on this issue ... it's worth doing a forum search using words like "minor child owning land" or similar, as some of these threads are quite detailed and informative. Yes it is legally possible but there are issues related to taking this step which make in unsuitable for some people or some situations. One of these, the inability to sell the land in the absence of court approval (and before the child comes of age), has already been stated.

With different land offices (or individual staff therein) it is not just a case of will do or won't do. Some have adopted arbitrary ages (for minors) above which they will agree to a land transfer. For example some may state that the child must at least be old enough to sign their name.

<snip>I find this sort of thing more and more these days. When you know a subject well you find journalists often get things mixed up - probably a combination of ignorance and making the story fit what they want to say and think sells. Not just journalists and bloggers, but the "experts" on CNBC, Bloomberg etc. It makes you wonder though: 1) what the impact of the media is, and how much damage they do with their misinformation in real dollars 2) if it happens on subjects you know well, then it probably happens on a very wide range of other subjects.<snip>

Absolutely. In my experience most journalists are capable of little more than re-wording/shortening a media release that has been handed to them. If they don't have reasonably good familiarity with the subject matter (and the time to actually think through what it is they are 'writing'), then it is so very easy to turn information into mis-information. The exceptions being a handful of real investigative journalists or (in the context of this thread) some competent veterans in the sphere of financial media.

Tax on Dividends? 10% or 15% ?? Can someone confirm.

10%

Correct. See here http://www.set.or.th/en/regulations/tax/tax_p1.html

<snip> Does that mean I do not invest here no, just means I am much more cautious <snip>

Well I'd suggest that "never invest in Thailand" (a statement that I disagree with when applied to everyone) is quite different to "use more caution when making Thai investments" (which I do agree with). In my experience most personal investment failures here can be traced back to the investor - not the investment, and not the country. It would seem that, for various reasons, many foreigners investing here seem to exercise less caution rather than more, and one aspect of this is that many simply couldn't be arZed to do the background research needed to provide a decent chance of success.

The other comment I'd make, and one which at least one poster has already mentioned, is that not all investors are the same. There are a large number of individual variables related to things like age and risk profile, country of residency, degree of investment experience, etc etc. This means that there is no one great/terrible investment for everyone, and it all also means that there is no one great/terrible country for everyone to invest in either.

Refer also to discussions in this earlier TV thread:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Canadian-Condo-Owner-Claims-False-A-t252387.html

Hi. For an absolute newbie I would suggest first looking at the Thai-language publications produced by the Stock Exchange of Thailand - of which there are many. These cater to adults and schoolkids, and address both general investing issues as well as more specialised areas.

The best thing would be to call by the library/book shop at the Stock Exchange building. Next best thing would be to check out their web site (www.set.or.th) to see what can be downloaded online (I can't remember exactly what is available there, sorry).

What about a dehumidifier(quality)on a timer(quality) running to a floor drain ?

I agree with this idea. I have tried several of the other approaches mentioned in this thread. The only one that worked, and worked very well indeed, was to install a good dehumidifier. Don't get a chinese cheapie as some have been known to start fires. I researched and got a good brand/model (Lubra LDH 520) and put it on a timer to run (max) several hours a day. It only switches on though if it detects that humidity has risen beyond a set point. I thoroughly sealed the room, for e.g. using masking tape around door way. Highly recommended.

fortunatus est, quod sicut amici mei habeo Google

Petri Heil

Fletch, agree with your comments above. I don't see the info you have shared in this thread as you spruiking yourself as an expert, as has been suggested. I can well understand others reluctance to follow suit due to the predictable carping responses, ie. my thingie is bigger than your thingie, if you are so brilliant then you wouldn't be spending time on thaivisa, so just how much money have you made anyway? so on and so forth.

With investments, and investment advice, it's horses for courses. And there is no one perfect investment for all. The Thaivisa membership ranges from investment novices (the majority) to those working in (or retired from) the finance sector. People need situation-relevant advice and encouragement to make their way up the many steps to the financial Valhalla inhabited by the likes of Phronesis. Alas, to suggest that someone who is not fully across algorithmic trading is incapable of offering meaningful assistance to the hoi polloi is just plain batty.

I am but a humble scribe. Like many others here I appreciate, and benefit from, reading of the investment triumphs and tragedies of fellow expats. I happily defer to the superior sector-specific experience and expertise of a number of notable contributors here on Thaivisa. Similarly, I look forward to sharing any knowledge that might be imparted from the member from Phuket ... just as soon as someone devises an algorithm to remove a broomstick.

And now I'm going fishing. Seriously.

This site will tell you about funds available via kbank

http://www.kasikornasset.com/EN/Pages/Default.aspx

In terms of being "expat friendly" consider that:

* Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank that I know of that has a dedicated "expat banking team" in HQ to look at improving products and services for the expat segment of their customer base

* Bangkok Bank is the only bank to monitor and participate in discussions here in Thaivisa (though this was at the personal initiative of two expat staff there, not as an official bank policy or as the Bank's official representatives)

That said, of course there are staff training and performance issues throughout the network, plus there will always be some differences in policies and procedures in LOS versus another country that may cause inconvenience or confusion.

After reading the OP's list, TV members might be interested in getting a book by Philip Wylie called (something like) "How to make money in Thailand" ... I assume it will be available online somewhere. It deals with the same ideas plus a few others, in more detail.

I would suggest though, taking a step back and thinking about your whole financial 'big picture' and then working through a structured process to decide the best way/s forward ... rather than zooming straight in and focussing on a specific money-making (losing?) idea. Either way the single most important thing is to do your homework first. So many of the bad experiences I have heard about were wholly (or at least, mainly) due to people rushing in with a 'great idea', too lazy, impatient or egotistical to read widely and talk to others with first-hand experience.

And wasn't there the Thailand Card which also gave you the ability to invest even more money in Thailand. Incidently is the Thailand Card still available ?

well the web site is still up and running, but there the right to own land is not one of the membership benefits

http://www.thailandelite.com/membership.php

The wife just found a little nugget online; looking for confirmation on this. She read that capital gains on stocks is not taxable in Thailand. That was a big surprise to me. Dividends are taxable as regular income, plus of course you would pay commissions & VAT on commissions, but no tax on your gains. Is this true?

correct: http://www.set.or.th/en/regulations/tax/tax_p1.html

Hi, on the question of choice of broker. If you do a forum search (see top right this page) on "stock broker" and "share broker" for e.g. you should locate some good earlier threads on this topic. You'll read about members experiences with specific broker (good and not-so-good) and a few names will turn up more often than others. Bear in mind though that the staff in particular branch offices (of a particular company) may vary in terms of english language skills, helpfulness, competence, etc. This is important in that if you are just starting out, it might well be beneficial to actually regularly spend time in the brokers office, use their 'puters and ask questions.

Now, on sources of info. There is a lot of info available in the web sites of Thai brokers, much of it available to non-clients. There are also sites like settrade that you may find helpful. Much of this info tends to be a bit here and a bit there though. Of course there are also some goods threads in Thaivisa that you will find helpful (again, play with the forum search facility to find these). Finally click on my profile for details about another source, one which offers a fairly comprehensive - yet plain English - overview of Thai investment options, regulations and procedures.

<snip> A property investment fund is something I had not considered but sounds interesting.

Perhaps you might then be interested in reading about this style of investment ... Thai property funds ... as one possible component in your portfolio: http://kelive.maybank-ke.co.th/KimEng/servlet/PDFDownload?DBId=2&rid=20732〈=1

<snip> i would love some actual pointers as to where you start, what its the prices, where is a good place so on

Where to start? With a big piece of white paper. column down the left with your specific objectives of what you hope to achieve. columns to the right for your guesthouse idea plus the various other options that might achieve your objectives. then put in some ticks and crosses. Based on the little you have written thus far you seem to be developing tunnel vision on this one idea too early in the process.

When you are convinced that the guesthouse idea might provide the most ticks you need to start reading and talking to people on the ground ... about small business management and writing a business plan, about running a guesthouse, about thai laws and regulations related to running a business (and simply staying and working in the country). There are good books, they are good web sites, there are informed personal accounts from ppl who have been there and done that in expat fora. I wouldn't place too much weight on the "sounds cool, go for it" lines, remembering that there are very real potential downsides to launching forth with a dream like yours. Anyway, that's my take on where to start

OK, first lesson is that the best transfer option depends on a number of variables including size of transfer, urgency of transfer, purpose of transfer, country of origin/destination, and so on. There are countless prior Thaivisa threads that go into how/why these various factors are important.

You are potentially hit with costs/charges by the outgoing bank, intermediate banks, destination bank, and finally by way f the exchange rate used. You need to determine each of these to get the best value.

If you go the bank transfer route then you need to tell the outgoing bank who the destination bank is, and ask if they will need to use one or more intermediary banks. If they say yes, then you have the option to change either or both banks (assuming you are transferring to/from youself). Obviously you wouldn't go to this trouble for a one-off transfer, but if it was on ongoing matter then you might.

You also need to be mindful of having less transfers of greater value. For example I think ANZ has a $10,000 limit on their basic transfer and anything up to that still gets hit with the same fee ($24?). So in your case you are much better off one making 1x$10,000 transfer than 5x$2,000 transfers.

Finally, you aren't restricted to using a bank to do transfers ... and a couple of posters have already suggested non-bank transfer operations. Again many TV members have made recommendations (or warnings) about these agencies in earlier discussion threads that can probably be located using the forum search facility.

It is always safer/easier to hold your shares in NVDR, as an alternative you can also buy or convert to foreign registered stock but that depends on availability. Thai companies take this very seriously (its the law) and they will withhold dividend payments where they have reason to believe that the owner (of a Thai registered stock) is foreign. NVDR is just easier and there is no real practical difference (unless you want to launch a bid for the whole company) .Indevidual circumstances vary and I am not sure what the situation is if you have permanent residence but , just living here with, say a work permit, still counts you as foreign. Even if you are Thai you can hold your shares in NVDR so no need to make things complicated, tick the box.

you are not required to declare dividends from SET listed companies, but, again depending on indevidual circumstances, there maybe benefit in having the (withholding) tax that you have already paid included in your total tax calculation.

This cuts both ways because Thai holders of foreign registered stock can also not get their dividends. It is the registry that withholds payments, not the companies themselves, unless they act as their own registrars which has I think been completely phased out now.

I agree that NVDRs make sense for foreign retail investors. Many foreign funds also use them for convenience. Only pension funds tend to have strict fiduciary rules requiring to always vote their proxies. If you buy foreign registered stock or buy local and have it registered as foreign, in many cases the foreign stock is not traded every day which means that the value of your stock in your online port with the broker will be shown as the last done foreign price which may have been a few years ago. It might even have never traded on the foreign board which means the value will be shown as zero.

On the con side, you cannot claim any tax rebate if you own NVDRs. If you are resident in Thailand for more than 180 days a year and own foreign registered stocks, you can claim a rebate of some of the 10% withholding tax paid on your dividends based on a complex formula that inputs the company's tax rate and your personal tax rate. The higher the company's tax rate and the lower your tax rate is, the more rebate you can claim. Now that corporate tax rates have gone down from 30% to 20%, this benefit is less valuable and there is a bit of paperwork involved but those with big dividend flows who reside in Thailand might want to consider it.

Just in relation to the last para, this article may be of interest: http://www.apolloinvestment.com/F080807.htm

not a problem with my samsung. gravity and centrifugal force then the pump kicks in to drain the last

That's odd. We have a Samsung and it will not drain under the circumstances I mentioned. I raised this with a Samsung technician who came to our place and it was he who told me about Thai machines not having a pump to evacuate the waste water. He was there for another matter though ... a rat had come up the waste pipe from outside when we were overseas, and it had gnawed through a plastic fitting inside the base of the washer. Hungry blighter, huh!

OK there is one issue that no-one seems to have mentioned as yet ... in terms of differences b/w western machines and Thai ones.

The Thai washing machines do not feature a pump to remove the waste water and rely on gravity extraction. That's why they need to drain into a floor drain and not a drain pipe half way up the wall like in most western laundries. Try plugging the waste pipe from a Thai machine into a drain pipe at bench height and the water will just sit in the machine. Unimportant for most ppl perhaps but a problem for others.

Some Thai asset management companies will still take US customers. Some will not, due to FATCA. Others haven't yet decided.

Misty, What is the easiest way for someone (from USA) to determine which funds they may or may not invest in ... esp. bearing in mind the frequent disconnect between what head office says and what counter staff say?

No, divorce does not automatically cancel it but you are right to be cautious.

For what it's worth I am not aware of any judgements whereby a usufruct has been cancelled after divorce, though it would appear that it is possible. If anyone else knows of such a judgement (pref. first-hand!) then please post here and share the details

The original arrangement may have been based on a genuine misunderstanding as, many years ago, a Thai married to a foreigner could not buy land. Either way you need to have the land transferred to your wife as soon as possible (or to your child/children if they are Thai citizens). The other thing to consider is whether it is worth having your MIL grant you a usufruct before the transfer takes place (and only on the basis of a transfer to your wife, rather than minor children).