wjdw

400k in bank or 40k showing offshore if that helps i believe.

2 hours ago, Arkady said:

I am not very clear from your post exactly type of business you are planning to do in Thailand but it sounds like it would be in a highly regulated area and might require overlapping licences.  Forex needs a licence from the Finance Ministry that needs approval from the Bank of Thailand.  (Local securities companies dealing with foreign clients have been known to wait years for forex licences.)  Asset management needs a licence from the SEC and there are various types of SEC issued corporate and individual financial advisory licences needed for various related activities.  The requirements for application and maintenance of all types of financial licence in Thailand are fairly burdensome and time consuming.  Certain activities are closed to majority foreign owned firms or may need special approvals to operate.  Certain activities are also closed to foreign individuals, e.g. being the CEO of an asset management firm, being the CFO of any type of business. 

 

I have been involved in the finance sector with Thai and foreign companies for nearly 30 years and have also had experience of personal licencing.  Thailand is a highly bureaucratic country and you need to dot all i's and cross all t's to get approvals.  They will not normally make any exceptions for anyone and don't care how interesting your scheme is.  In fact the more innovative it sounds the more suspicious they are likely to be.  They have seen their fair share of foreign scamsters in the financial sector.       

Correct, 

However the Thai variation would be completed under Thai Financial Services Authority and be a Thai corp managed/owned by a Thai. 

They would then complete their investments with the regulated UK/US fund. 

Alternatively to "Full" Thai,  Moving money out/in should not a problem, as the UK/US corp can cover the investment amounts, further US Citz/COO and US Corp has more 'free-reign' within Thailand than say a British based corp thus as i understand fund manuv becomes a lot easier.

I get all these 'Scammers etc bla bla bla', but you don't so easily get registered in the UK/US, further the FCA/SEC are a entered different ball park. 

Thanks for the input.
 

On 10/8/2017 at 12:24 AM, lannarebirth said:

 

I imagine the money will be departing Thailand in suitcases but not by the investor / donor.

No, not at all, (Investor in Revolut) business service releasing in coming months, enables the ability to move within and out of Thailand with ease subject to state restrictions, ease here also means capital can remain in the boarders, as we have 10m bonded in UK/HK that can be utilised.

22 hours ago, blackcab said:

 

You have a backstage role for a reason. I would leave this to the business team.

I'm the prominent owner, CVO, and the person that has financed the entire endeavour, buck stops with me.

No information on Thai SEC 

http://www.sec.or.th/EN/RaisingFunds/MutualFundOtherProduct/Pages/MutualFundOtherProduct.aspx

Background.

My UK Company (5 year development) is intensely involved in AI, One of the elements (smaller) is our Financial Side (Financial Markets) the company overall is led by Ex NYSE Director, (i have a backstage role, my interest is solely in Artificial Intelligence), and one of the offerings (currently going through live testing) is a private Hedge Fund (based in US/BVI). 

On a pro-rata bases (during extensive experimentation, live running) the returns/growth is roughly 38-42% monthly on one end - or 240% on non equity managed (for those that do not understand the difference between, essentially it comes down to the following, equity managed means losses are restrictive - There's a team of humans in there pulling the trigger, without the 240% could just as easily been -500%).

The wife is one of the UK Directors as well as a minority stock holder/board member (alongside numerous others involved). 

The wife, looking at Thai financial investment options (as dreary as US/UK/EU establishments) see's an opportunity to establish a financial based institution (vehicle) which funds are then managed in the main pot apposed to Bank ShareSchemes/Investments (think they're 2% per annum currently here).

I've always been apposed to Thailand simply because i have significant investments here, but there's enough skilled/experienced/public people involved in the company now to say something has not been overlooked. 

Thus i said sure, but then comes the hard piece, how the heck / where does she first begin to search (in the UK we leveraged 10m against CFA) the US is similar bonds, yet in Thailand there is no mention of establishing a financial based corporation nor the requisites. 

Note you often see ponzi's or the like but i doubt they are even financially registered with the authorities, and for peace of mind, or other she has do establish this correctly, and within the full restrictions of the law.

Thai Investment Vehicle > Invests in US/UK Investment Hedge Fund. 

Moving funds in and out of Thailand (before anyone sees an issue with this) is 'achievable', without drama, also establishing the company, the only element of difficulty or confusion as i see it, is what specific licenses are required if any.

To note this is pre-firing over to a lawyer we deal with so we at least go in clued up on domestic legalities, as i was informed even forex is illegal here now, would really appreciate any input from someone that has completed specifics with the Thai Financial Authority or the like.

As to the % return (seeming high), it's AI->Trading not Human (Vast Difference) | for anyone that contacts to invest/learn more please understand at this time it's closed to private HNW investors in the US/UK and not open to outside Investors in any capacity. (which is what we're looking at now for it's first offering). For those that like to jump on, and throw e-punches and the like, you are simply wasting your time.

Not sure where you are @ywamer but if you can get down to Phuket by sunday the latest, as monday i will be taking to trang to px for a new Ford Ranger, is my Ford Fiesta, it's done 48.5k, Red, spotless (had the new gear box fitted as the 12/13 series were faulty - you touched on this above), we're offloading to them for 240k so 250k will be more than enough to undo any costs already agreed there.

My understanding looking at prices this will resell for around the 300k mark, it's sat at another property we own used once a week to keep it ticking over but no use to us, as we are removing our small cars (we're doing a lot of miles and terraines), may also have a newish Jazz for sale shortly but that will be 4-500k 

Drop a line here and go from there.

W

@ChiangMaiThai

Thank me later with a small donation to the rotary club of Patong.... :) 

Tim Cook = [email protected]  +14089961010 = obvious

Mr Mark Rogers = Managing Director Email [email protected] (UK but has a Thai counterpart, reach out to if British)

Mr Philip W. Schiller = SVP Worldwide Marketing Email [email protected] = obvious, you are complaining, it's bad for their marketing.

Email all (only CC M Rogers if you are British) and tell them of you're predicament, and link in this feed going out to over 100,000 people.... Bad for business, their third party is <deleted> over their brand strength. 

You will kick up a hornets nets, but not for you but the company that has the license to use the brand and sell the products (their loss) and let me know how you get on, as i just dropped 500k THB on some new gear for the office. 

 

I was offered 15m with SCB 2 year's ago, either Condo or Landed property with my 'wife' condo separately . 

All comes down to WP - Company (respected large org) - Salary 

One thing to NOTE. even for Thai's the interest is massive, and you will likely end up paying double the value over the term and being stuck with a property you can not sell. 

Just use Invmail it's 'Zero Knowledge' coupled with E2E. 

& It's free. (used by US Gov, Hedge Fund's and Private companies and people).

Does anyone know of any 'swift' fees when sending money in Thai Baht from UK/Swiss to Thailand. 

I get Bank to Bank rates on the currency, but this is the first time in a while, that i'm sending a large chunk to Thailand, i thought best to convert at B2B and then there should be no charges as i do not get any charges in Europe on Currency Conversions or losses (Split second i sent @ : £1.00 - B44.6900), however, i think there is a swift fee for receiving but am unsure if that's only in foreign currency not Thai Baht.

Many thanks

If in Phuket - Zanzi Bar.

No, its impossible to i am 90% sure, your experience of this is? 

Ok a discussion we are having here in the bar, i believe i am right but i am told i am, wrong.

"Mike"'s wife owns a land plot Mike bought in her name for 2.5m 

Mike wants to purchase an additional property, but instead of putting down funds with the bad exchange, mike states to wife that put down chanute as collateral with the loaning bank

- I say that's impossible, only can said chanute be used for same loan when its for building or a loan against the chanute from the bank.

Am i wrong?

1 minute ago, keeniau96 said:

I live in the area but don't know about the handyman part. For the countertops your best bet is to go to one of the roadside granite stone shops, pick out the material and talk to the shop owner. The usual deal is that they will install on your base, complete with proper fitting and cutting of the openings and plumbing holes. I have had it done this way for five houses in the Kathu area, last was about 5 years ago. My favorite shop was (emphasize the past tense) on Bypass road just short of where the current major construction is underway (nicely done by ItalThai). Actually there is a good such granite shop right at that very intersection as you are going northbound and make a left turn onto Thepkasettri Road. Tricky to get to it because of the construction traffic, just have to bear strongly left and drive into the shop immediately at the corner.  

Many thanks, yes, on the Granite we used one of these recently, they were very good, but the price quoted originally was 5k thb per sqm and by the end of it 15k sqm (kept making jobs and what not) naturally the 5k being before cuts, and fitting etc, which is where they seemed to coin it. 

Was almost the same price as europe ! 

Many thanks again @keeniau96

Looking for a small builder outfit in Kathu area to complete some building work on a condo we rent out there. 

Concrete Island style building, and tiling are a must. - we are going with concrete as we had a fitted kitchen and the last tenant destroyed that over 6 months with water damage, thus we want something for the base that is strong, sturdy and water resistant and looks chic/respectable. 

Also we paid what appears to be well over the odds for our granite worktops in the kitchen, we are considering granite worktops in the kitchen at the condo also for wear and tear, anyone who can pipe up on rough costs cut and fitted would be great as we paid 15,000 a sqm last time :/ 

Cheers!

Not sure why the land size comes in to this discussion..?

Anyway as the original poster, asked a question as to whether it is possible, to which it has since been clarified as yes. 
 

Just now, chiang mai said:

An offshore company, regardless of where it is located, still needs a vehicle inside Thailand to purchase and own the land, typically that would be a second company that is Thai and has a majority of shareholders. And even if the offshore company sells shares in itself to offshore foreigners, you're still no closer to owning land in Thailand than you would be if you started a Thai company here yourself.

Not exactly true, Couple a BVI setup with the Thai BOI, you can physically own without the hassle you have just mentioned. 

Advantages include ability to sell (transfer tax free locally) , Pass on (transfer tax free locally) and so on. 

Pure example also would include : RPM in Phuket, physical ownership due to BOI, Purchase through offshore company and then you have the best of both worlds, ownership fully in the offshore company, ability to own 100% outright, and sell on to others or pass on to others. etc. 

It all depends on 
:- Capital Invested
:- Thai BOI generic or specific rules on the property
:- Setup
:- Getting a good lawyer (which costs money). 

 

Also note TBOI option. 

"2.3 Investment: Thai real estate law allows foreigners to buy and own a limited amount of land based on an investment of 40 million baht for five consecutive years, provided that the land is used for residential purposes."

1 hour ago, LPCustom69 said:

If someone had 35 million baht for a house, wouldn't they find a better location?

I take it you really have no understanding on the variation of prices in Thailand... 

In some cases, a rai of land alone is over 100mTHB . 

People buy where they feel comfortable, personally we have homes here, the Bahamas, Mainland Europe, and the UK, each serves it's purposes and each protected based on it's costs for example a estate we have in Bulgaria has been used once and really is on a low priority protection wise to us, but in Thailand the prices are so conflated, that we have had to protect due to the sheer sums invested in owning, this mean's we had to look at alternative options, generally reserved for such property valuations, and investment amount, handy though as my visa is now very long term as standard through this. 

Admittedly our portfolio here is not specific to one location (Province).

> Most "farang" who go down this route, already have a lawyer telling them of their options based on their capital inflow, or are buying from a developer who has already arranged this with the properties, and respective authorities. 

For those that did not and do come across, two legal firms mentioned above are your best routes to find out what is available to you and at what cost, just note these are large and in some multinational law firms, thus the Thai way of doing business as in arriving asking 100's of questions then disappearing will likely not work, they generally bill upfront for their time . (Both have prior PWC staff so as you can imagine some of the best legal advice in Thai).

8 minutes ago, Our Man in the Tropics said:

Thank u everone already for helpful replies.
I think that this thread will gather much more replies over a few weeks ;
According as members hone their intended replies ;
Because, I gather that the ways to accomplish what the helpful Falang informed me about are rather technical.

 

Meanwhile, & specifically to wjdw, I am unsure if "avg 15mb home" is :
1.
indeed "THB 15 million home" ?
or
2.
typo which was meant to be "THB 1.5 million home" ?

Sorry i was not clear, avg 15,000,000 THB home... 

You need to be looking specifically at 1m$ plus. (normally around 2m$) 

For the avg home (say 5mTHB - to mean avg of - 15mTHB to max of -35mTHB for Westerners) then just a Thai company will do, your pretty safe and your not likely to have problems, unless with the partner, with 1m$ above then you seriously need to look at other options that safeguard the control of the property. 

A BVI company is then ideal, but still there are alternatives within Thailand as such BOI of Thailand which a well experienced lawyer can advise on. 

If you're competing against 1.5mTHB its natt's piss and generally a year's salary for the basic avg joe back in the West thus protecting this asset in the manners mentioned above is both pointless and in some cases impossible, from a legal - co cost side. 
 

Contact : http://www.hlbthai.com/ (a reputable connected legal firm in BKK) or http://www.limcharoen.com/ (another law firm specialising in such but forigner driven). They can arrange and tell you how it's done, but don't contact if you are just going to ask questions for curiosity as they will likely bill you for their time. 

There are numerous ways foreigners can freehold property in Thailand either personally or via shell corps, it all comes down to the cost, and money brought in. 

Note if your doing for an avg 15mb home, don't waste your time, you can write that off or just look at a Thai company set up,  and if you can not then look else where, these are really for 1m$ upwards properties (BOI) etc 

Note also one benefit to a offshore company is that you are able to transfer ownership easily and without red-

tape, as the property is owned by the company, and it's just a share transfer. 

On the road from Ikea, plenty of wood places - bought last year, was reasonable.

Yes you can, research BVI, it's how most high end properties including our own is resolved, and yes you need a good lawyer from Bangkok

Just now, wjdw said:

I get really bored of repeating this. 

Head to the app store on your phone. 

Search "Revolut" (https://www.revolut.com)

 

Download, install, set up an account (give a UK address), Thai number, 

 

Wholla you have a Revolut account. 

Verify yourself (simple again). 

Use your bank in the UK to upload funds (either by bank transfer or Debit card charge, even CC charge if you prefer). 

Wholla you now have funds in your Revolut account. 

Now Withdraw them from there to your Thai bank directly 

 

Wholla you have just transferred the money without commision, without bank charges and at Interbank rates. 

- Note you can also organise a physical card to be posted to thailand for your account (costs 35USD), arrives in a couple of days, you can also use the card for "Card Charges via machine, online, over the phone or ATM (remember to withdraw in GBP or your source currency USD, EURO, Sterling) on the screen, charges are 200 THB per 20-25k). Max usage is 30k USD per annum before you have to verify source of funds. 

Futher more if your a smart cookie and need to get money out of Thailand... 

 

Credit your credit card with the funds, charge the credit card as a topup to revolut, then send the funds to bank offshore or use the card to withdraw in the new country. 

As to whether you can do by Bank transfer to Revolut in THailand, this is also possible but may raise flags, as then it's a transfer and not a charge. 

Please for the love of life, try it, save money and share, so no other expat has to ask about bank transfers again, as it's painful getting notifications about such in the generic feed per day when this is so simplistic. 

* Is your money safe? google "Revolut".

Early adopter (£100,000 transferred this year), Investor and  lover, only a fool does not use Interbank rates.

2 minutes ago, wjdw said:

I get really bored of repeating this. 

Head to the app store on your phone. 

Search "Revolut" (https://www.revolut.com)

 

Download, install, set up an account (give a UK address and remember to update to Thai before ordering physical card. ), Thai number (if it states can not, put a friends uk number in temporary and update from your account settings when set up). - it grew too big too quick.

 

Wholla you have a Revolut account. 

Verify yourself (simple again). 

Use your bank in the UK to upload funds (either by bank transfer or Debit card charge, even CC charge if you prefer). 

Wholla you now have funds in your Revolut account. 

Now Withdraw them from there to your Thai bank directly 

 

Wholla you have just transferred the money without commision, without bank charges and at Interbank rates. 

- Note you can also organise a physical card to be posted to thailand for your account (costs 35USD), arrives in a couple of days, you can also use the card for "Card Charges via machine, online, over the phone or ATM (remember to withdraw in GBP or your source currency USD, EURO, Sterling) on the screen, charges are 200 THB per 20-25k). Max usage is 30k USD per annum before you have to verify source of funds. 

Futher more if your a smart cookie and need to get money out of Thailand... 

 

Credit your credit card with the funds, charge the credit card as a topup to revolut, then send the funds to bank offshore or use the card to withdraw in the new country. 

As to whether you can do by Bank transfer to Revolut in THailand, this is also possible but may raise flags, as then it's a transfer and not a charge. 

Please for the love of life, try it, save money and share, so no other expat has to ask about bank transfers again, as it's painful getting notifications about such in the generic feed per day when this is so simplistic. 

* Is your money safe? google "Revolut".

Early adopter (£100,000 transferred this year), Investor and  lover, only a fool does not use Interbank rates.

And just to add, if you like (my wife and i travel alot and sometimes sep to Swiss/EU UK/US/ ETC)  and it works everywhere where mastercard is accepted. 

The wife (Thai) can organise her own card also :) 
Oh and you can transfer funds from revolut user to revolut user at the click of a button and no charges, for those that work from home for offshore companies (regardless of your legal requirements there), you can also then tell your payer to do the same, and wholla you now save a small fortune on your remittance. 

 

I get really bored of repeating this. 

Head to the app store on your phone. 

Search "Revolut" (https://www.revolut.com)

Download, install, set up an account (give a UK address and remember to update to Thai before ordering physical card. ), Thai number (if it states can not, put a friends uk number in temporary and update from your account settings when set up). - it grew too big too quick.

Wholla you have a Revolut account. 

Verify yourself (simple again). 

Use your bank in the UK to upload funds (either by bank transfer or Debit card charge, even CC charge if you prefer). 

Wholla you now have funds in your Revolut account. 

Now Withdraw them from there to your Thai bank directly 

Wholla you have just transferred the money without commision, without bank charges and at Interbank rates. 

- Note you can also organise a physical card to be posted to thailand for your account (costs 35USD), arrives in a couple of days, you can also use the card for "Card Charges via machine, online, over the phone or ATM (remember to withdraw in GBP or your source currency USD, EURO, Sterling) on the screen, charges are 200 THB per 20-25k). Max usage is 30k USD per annum before you have to verify source of funds. 

Futher more if your a smart cookie and need to get money out of Thailand... 

Credit your credit card with the funds, charge the credit card as a topup to revolut, then send the funds to bank offshore or use the card to withdraw in the new country. 

As to whether you can do by Bank transfer to Revolut in THailand, this is also possible but may raise flags, as then it's a transfer and not a charge. 

Please for the love of life, try it, save money and share, so no other expat has to ask about bank transfers again, as it's painful getting notifications about such in the generic feed per day when this is so simplistic. 

* Is your money safe? google "Revolut".

Early adopter (£100,000 transferred this year), Investor and  lover, only a fool does not use Interbank rates.