ColdSingha

sounds to me like they are saying they want zero foreign controlled businesses now (unless meet BOI conditions)

however foreigners are welcome to invest in thai controlled businesses

all thai companies currently controlled by foreigners both big and small will have to relinquish control to their majority thai partners

have i got this right?

What problem are they trying to fix exactly? An individual or group that inject a % of cash, deserve that % of control.... or did I misunderstand something about vote and shares on a very fundamental level?

not exactly ... what you saying is correct for Standard/ordinary shares ..

you put 49% of assets .. you own 49% and have 49% votes

but with preferred shares .. you can inject (nice word btw) .. 1000% but your power inside the company is still zipp !

this is to actually allow investments inside a company to be happen without loosing the control over it.

so you can have as example have the thai side hold 5% of the comany in ordinary shares

and you as the foreigner holds 4% of the ordinary shares

and a group of persons (investors) do hold 91% of Prefered shares .. 100% legal.

of course agreements can be made outside the constructs .. but this is another story.

prefered shares however are protected and always beeing first to be paid out.

so if a company makes just enough to pay the prefered shareholder dividend .. the ordinary shareholder (which will include the 51% thai) will get out empty handed ..

as the prefered investors have traded the right to control the comapny with the right to be paid first.

this also counts in a bankrupt case and other scenarios as well.

btw, basically ALL large thai companies operating in this way .. its very common ..

this is btw also why its legally possible foa the singaporean finance ministery to "OWN" AIS

and telenor owns DTAC .... they not really operate the companies .. but the money is from there.

even the super loyal enterprises like Siam commercial bank or Siam cement operating this way

ok this explains why governments around the world are pressuring thailand to rethink. (i had a hard time thinking they were batting for the little guys )

Wow

If that is for real then we may just have to consider shutting down, sacking all the locals we currently support and go with international freelancers instead

And you will not be alone in that thinking.

I have been thinking this through and the claim that it is to "protect local Thai business who are not yet ready to compete".. Well if that statement really was true then dont grant any foreign investments in the areas you are trying to protect, right?

Also, the status quo is 49% ownership is foreign but Board can be foreign so Executive decisions are made by foreigners,, so proposed changes,, board has to be Thai and executive decisions have to be Thai made.. Thinking about the second option, how does this protect local business? The Thai board will still have resources and expertise of a foreign company,, do they think that a Thai board will make "moral" decisions not to trample on local businesses too much? To pull back the aggressive expansion plans as it will kick Mr and Mrs not ready into the weeds?

Get real, this is about money, the top nobs gleaning money.. Foreigners invest money, own less then half their investment from day 1 and then give all decision making over to locals..

I think we should ALL just tell them where to go, pack up and tender the enormous amount of foreign money here to neighbouring countries. Its about time the foreigners made Thailand realise how much we ALL need International business and said enough! We take our business elsewhere....!

I am going to have a very serious look at it over the coming weeks.

more than a few business owners i know are currently opening offices in Cambodia as we speak with a long term view that goes beyond expansion and towards migration

i'm assuming this is going to affect all the thousands of shell companies holding villas for foreigners as well?

yikes

Wow

If that is for real then we may just have to consider shutting down, sacking all the locals we currently support and go with international freelancers instead

don't do that! find yourself a nice thai person or company to partner up with. once you've handed over your 51%, business model and customer list they'll take care of everything else.. including your flights home

Sorry to say it, but if you don't know the alphabet after more than a year of "studying", than you should not be a student in a first place. I fully understand that they close this loophole. The "goalposts" should have been moved a long time ago, and when they finally are, there will always be someone learning. The Thai alphabet is not like the Chinese. If you can't memories the alphabet in a few weeks, then you are not trying hard enough.

my school did not teach alphabet or writing in the first year

i know, bad school.. except MOE didnt think it was and had no problem granting visas to their students

so is this my fault i dont know the thai alphabet, my school's or MOE's?

"Why is it a crime for the police to kick him?" one commentator wrote. "The police officer is suspended because of his inappropriate action. What about getting drunk and crashing someone else's cars, isn't that even more inappropriate?"

two wrongs don't make a right

amazing how many times this keeps happening its almost like the police are turning a blind eye to these crimes

i lost all interest in starting a business here after a good friend of mine migrated his successful business across country and following a *** office review a document was found to be "missing" but this could be "overlooked" for a fee of xxx,xxx baht or his company would be dragged through the courts (for years)

he runs a tight ship and we have no doubts he was well and truely extorted.

we've since been told it's a common scam at this office

seriously, <deleted> these guys

Those are not available. We have tried with no luck yet.

Ok. Thanks. We will have to wait and see... as usual.

would you mind keeping the rest of us updated as news comes in thanks

refused to pay once for "express service" (wife said we are not in a hurry). IO was pissed off, even complained to our character witness, who i might add showed very little sympathy (lol), but what could she do? docs were in order so extension was processed.

since then we have never been asked again.

will be an increase in back to back tourist visas now

This is crazy, I have been here for 1 year on an ED visa, go to my classes and actually try to learn thai.

I'm under 50, I work online. I make a lot of money and bring a lot of money into Thailand. Recently spent 250,000 baht on hospital bills for my partner, have a car, pay rent on a home, I spend over 100,000 baht a month in Thailand and I love it here. But what I cant put up with is the uncertainty of never knowing if I'm going to have to pack my bags and leave with a months notice, I have dogs, a car etc. I'd be screwed if i was given one week to up and leave.

Have also been told that we must now read and write, and that when I extend my visa in December I will be expected to know the alphabet, apparently my schooll was informed last week! Previously the first year was speaking only, so I have a couple weeks to learn the whole alphabet (good luck) even though when I extended 9 months ago immigration asked the school to bring the curriculum and were fully aware that year 1 was speaking only!!

So what are my options? Pay 100,000+ baht a year in school fees now to cover the extra hours, possibly pay 3800 baht a month for my partner and i if we have to keep extending? (my friend was given one month extensions every time with the "under consideration" stamp on it)

Paying over 200,000 baht a year to stay in Thailand is crazy, I'd rather go elsewhere but I don't know what options I have right now.

Going to research Vietnam and other places, but for work purposes I need a very reliable and fast internet connection, a bit of security would be a bonus. A visa stamp saying 12 months would be nice.

I know technically i'm "abusing" the ED visa since I work, but I do nothing but spend money here and I'm not doing something a Thai could do (it's very niche), and it's money that would not be in the Thai economy if I went home to Europe and worked, and it's another empty house on my Soi.

Having me here adds at least 1.5 million baht to the thai economy every year, but it's getting to the point where considering the cost and uncertainty I'm not sure it's worth the effort of staying here.

Anyone else know a good place in SE Asia where it's a bit more welcoming in regards to working etc?

Don't understand why you don't get the Elite visa if you make a lot money. No need to write a lot here, just contact them, pay 500k and you are sorted for the next 5 years.

'Elite Visa'

Just take a couple of days holiday every three months. You can afford to.

BTW It doesn't matter what visa you're on, you trip up to any government/police shop and they'll still call you a Tourist, (except for 'Elite Card' holders, they're called 'mugs' ) So anyone believing they are in any way considered superior because of their visa status are deluding themselves. Just make sure all your Thai bank accounts are already opened

attitudes always change when i mention my wife is thai and i better give her a call (lol). many many times waved on with a "warning" (for a made up potential shake down offense). also get much better treatment at banks, hospitals, govt offices, etc when they see the non-o

If you read this Thai Immigration Officer!!! Beware I will from now going with a hidden camera to every immigration visit. I am sick and tired of this. In the last 5 years I was scammed a good 5-6 times for a few thousand baht just to get what I should get by the law. At immigration and at land borders.

In these 5 years I have been offered many things like not showing financial proofs, even a fake marriage or a visa which states me as married with someone. I never accepted any of these but I am sure there are many foreigners who accepted and then later get a lot trouble (http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/776614-visas-for-men-in-marriage-scam-to-be-revoked/) and the officers who are invovled "could" face a penalty.

I have been offered so many illegal things in this country I can't even count it. Fake visas, shell companies, tax free land transfers, working without work permit, drugs, and so on....!!! AND I NEVER <deleted> ASKED FOR IT!!!!

Have to wonder about your appearance and who you are hanging out with as well as what immigration office. I have never been asked for a bribe or dealt with anyone I would expect would take a bribe at immigration (Bangkok). I wish there was as I would gladly pay to jump ahead in the queue. I have had them scold me for doing things wrong (too many over stays) and had them give me a longer extension than I deserved after I complained about them not being open an extended number of days.

I have paid bribes to get expedited service other places. Only difference between doing it in Thailand and the US is here it is called a bribe and goes to a low paid worker, in the US they call it an expedite fee and is a lot more and goes to the companies or entity's profits.

Be it here or anywhere else of dealing with a company or government agency, you sometimes deal with ignorant people or those demanding more then entitled. Personally I like it better here as they amount is always significantly less.

All the constant whining and exaggeration of these encounters is simply going to turn this country into what I believe most of us were happy to leave.

Edit: Never even had a police officer ask me for a bribe in all these years but have done things wrong that would have resulted in a fine and asked if I could pay less and avoid the trouble of going to the station and getting a receipt. If only such encounters in my home country could result in a $5 fine and nothing on my record or filed with my auto insurance.

dress it up however you like to make you sleep better, expedite fee, receipt free payment, whatever. its still a bribe.

ask to speak to a senior officer to clarify the situation and "extra charges"

if needed, provide any extra documents requested by the senior officer

please never give in to extortion as it makes it worse for your fellow expats

dasha soi 94 and the curry house on soi 94

wife loves the thai food on soi 88 phetkasem road end near the railway line

this is going to make an ED visa (with extensions) an expensive option in Bangkok and Phuket now

makes me wonder how long it will be before we have to pass a medical to get a marriage/retirement extension

i have this nagging feeling thailand is going to end up with a Hong Kong style democracy.

They will be free to vote for any of the "approved" parties

i personally hope this does not happen

"5 million rai illegally occupied by non-farmers"

developed?

and there we go kids.. no more bribes to the RTP

safest thing an unwitting tourist in this country can do is stay as far away as possible from the RTP