Selling Thai (internet based) leads to Thai companies from abroad, Thai based business registration required?

[ForumLurker]

I'm working on a internet based, very specific lead generation business, aiming to mainly collect Thai leads to sell to Thai companies. A portion of the leads will also be foreign, but it's not the main goal of the site. The domain name is a .com and the hosting is based out of Thailand.

 

Unfortunately I noticed the laws for setting up a company in Thailand are very strict and unwelcoming to foreigners, so I'm currently facing some uncertainty in this regard.

 

I would be happy to form a private limited company with 2 other Thai partners which would make me a minority shareholder, but if I understood it correctly this company would still be considered a 'foreign' company under Thai law. (as I would be a manager of the company)

 

In this case I would have to request a foreign business license, take 3 million baht capital into the country and hope for approval.

 

Even if I would have the ability to take 3 million baht into the country, approval is still being put into question as I would imagine a lead generation business falling under "Advertising" which is listed in list 3 of the foreign business act. They call this list "businesses for which Thai nationals are not yet ready to compete with foreigners".

 

In the case I would not be approved, would it still be an option to wait (wait until I start making any money from the site) until a point in time where Thais are ready to compete? I guess it is an option, but what would be your outlook on this?

 

With the Thailand 4.0 "smart visa" things seem to be improving. As my business would fall under the "Digital" category their aiming for in their program and I could apply for their "Smart S" (startup) program. However I'm not interested in participating in an incubator or accelerator at this point, so it also doesn't appear to be an option.

 

So yeah things are starting to look quite complicated at the moment. When the chance of it being accepted (seems) somewhat lower and when the other option is to wait for a better point in time, I am forced to look at options outside of the country. (if there are any)

 

I am aware of the fact that I would still require a work permit in order to work legally in Thailand, so I would still have to live elsewhere.

 

I wonder how for example booking.com legally does business in Thailand, as their business model is effectively the same as my business model (a commission for successful sales). With the exception that their business is dealing with foreign customers for Thai businesses.

 

Are they also legally incorporated in Thailand or are they able to perform the business inside of Thailand from an offshore business registration?

 

Which brings me to my bigger question, would it be legal for a .com website to sell Thai leads to Thai companies, or are there any alternative ways to perform this business with a foreign business entity? (without being in the country itself)

 

Or am I better off running the business in another SEA country before coming back to Thailand at a later time? (once I am legally able to so do)

 

This being said I will be getting legal help on this matter, but before this I would be interested to hear the forums combined knowledge on the topic.

 

Thanks a lot to anyone that could shed some light.

[blackcab]

If you are based abroad, the base of your operation is abroad and your hosting is abroad you don't need any presence in Thailand.

 

You don't need a company here and you don't need to pay tax here.

 

It's up to each Thai company to buy whatever they choose. All you need to do is give them a tax invoice they can submit to their accountant.