Thai-farang Partnerships - Not Ltd Companies

[thaigene2]

I trust the answer is 'no' but I'll ask anyway..

Can my Thai wife and I (farang) form a company through simple 2-person legal Partnership as is done in many other countries? (e.g. to open a couple of small trading stalls at a local market).

Is this possible? And if so, wouldn't this get round some of the hassles of LTD registrations and 7 Thai partners and all the other stuff??

Edited February 8, 2007 by thaigene2

[soundman]

I trust the answer is 'no' but I'll ask anyway..

Can my Thai wife and I (farang) form a company through simple 2-person legal Partnership as is done in many other countries? (e.g. to open a couple of small trading stalls at a local market).

Is this possible? And if so, wouldn't this get round some of the hassles of LTD registrations and 7 Thai partners and all the other stuff??

If anyone has some answers on this topic of foreigners owning percentages of "limited partnerships" or hor jor gor's, please post.

Thanks,

Soundman.

[thaigene2]

I trust the answer is 'no' but I'll ask anyway..

Can my Thai wife and I (farang) form a company through simple 2-person legal Partnership as is done in many other countries? (e.g. to open a couple of small trading stalls at a local market).

Is this possible? And if so, wouldn't this get round some of the hassles of LTD registrations and 7 Thai partners and all the other stuff??

If anyone has some answers on this topic of foreigners owning percentages of "limited partnerships" or hor jor gor's, please post.

Thanks,

Soundman.

Again I assume this is not possible as many with a thai wife would have done so. Perhaps a moderator or other could answer my question to put this one to bed?

[Cyberstar]

Yes. You can form what is called a "Limited Partnership" together with your wife. It does have some advantages against a co., ltd., but also some disadvantages (with respect to your investment) ... You should consider whether it might not be better just to buy/rent those stalls in your wife's name (she's sole propriator of the business) ... As far as I've understood various posts by our resident lawyer, Sunbelt, all three setups can yield a workpermit for you provided various matters are as they're required to be. For details - try to enter 'limited partnership' or 'sole propriater' into the search engine of this forum (after having checked with a dictionary whether 'propriater' is spelled correctly).

[Sunbelt Asia]

Can my Thai wife and I (farang) form a company through simple 2-person legal Partnership as is done in many other countries? (e.g. to open a couple of small trading stalls at a local market).

Yes But better to put her in a sole proprietorship than a Limited partnership.

The problem with the Ltd Partnership versus a Limited company, is unlimted liability for your wife ( no liability for you as long as you don't get involved with the business)

Your name cannot be on the bank account.

No control by you.

Because of the tax involved, if these issues are not a concern, go with the sole proprietorship and a will.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

[soundman]

Can my Thai wife and I (farang) form a company through simple 2-person legal Partnership as is done in many other countries? (e.g. to open a couple of small trading stalls at a local market).

Yes But better to put her in a sole proprietorship than a Limited partnership.

The problem with the Ltd Partnership versus a Limited company, is unlimted liability for your wife ( no liability for you as long as you don't get involved with the business)

Your name cannot be on the bank account.

No control by you.

Because of the tax involved, if these issues are not a concern, go with the sole proprietorship and a will.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

A question for Sunbelt:

When first arriving in Thailand my wife & I opened a small manufacturing business as a limited partnership in my wife's, her brother's and sister in law's names. (registered capital 5,000,00B) This business has performed OK for about 4 years, we pay all taxes, employment insurance etc.

I now want to be a partner in this business, is this possible??

Can this business also employ me??

With respects to all the qualifications to employ a foreigner the business passes, to my knowledge, on every point.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Pls post or PM.

Thank you,

Soundman.

[thaigene2]

thanks Cyberstar and Sunbelt...

But what I am really trying to determine is if a Limited Partnership (my wife and me) would allow us to have a small business together, buy a house or condo this way, and by-pass all the medling friends/in-laws, nominees, etc required for a "Company LTD".

Can a foreigner be in a limited partnership with his thai wife? Is the wife barred from doing that because she is married to a foreigner?

[Sunbelt Asia]

But what I am really trying to determine is if a Limited Partnership (my wife and me) would allow us to have a small business together, buy a house or condo this way, and by-pass all the medling friends/in-laws, nominees, etc required for a "Company LTD".

But the other 5 shareholders can have a total investment of 25 baht. Thats 5 Baht each. If the Par Value is 5 Baht for a share and they invest in one share for 5 Baht, they are not a nominee.

Can a foreigner be in a limited partnership with his thai wife?

If they have the same last name, some officers have denied the registration of a Limited partnership. They required another partner to invest as well.

Is the wife barred from doing that because she is married to a foreigner?

See above.

When first arriving in Thailand my wife & I opened a small manufacturing business as a limited partnership in my wife's, her brother's and sister in law's names. (registered capital 5,000,00B) This business has performed OK for about 4 years, we pay all taxes, employment insurance etc.

I now want to be a partner in this business, is this possible??

Yes. In fact, you can be the MD and hold up to 99.99% of the capital. Manufacturing is not a restricted business for foreigners.

Can this business also employ me??

Yes

With respects to all the qualifications to employ a foreigner the business passes, to my knowledge, on every point.

Only requirement is 2 million Baht registered capital ( one million Baht if married to a Thai and a foreigner holds less than 49% of the shares)

The other requirement is a non immigrant visa.

registered capital 5,000,00B

You stated you have 5 million. Why? The Tax people must love your firm.

Small company ( less than 5 million Baht registered capital)

- Net profit not exceeding 1 million Baht ... 15% tax

- Net profit over 1 million Baht but not exceeding 3 million Baht ... 25% tax

- Net profit exceeding 3 million Baht ...30% tax

Registered Capital 5 million Baht and up

- The corporate income tax rate in Thailand is 30% on net profit.

If they had a net profit of 3 million Baht, they paid 250,000 more in income tax versus if the registered capital was just 4,999,999 Baht. A big savings!

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

[soundman]

Thanks Sunbelt

Soundman.