Fba Tweaks In Pipeline

[Mobi]

Did anyone else spot this in Friday's Business Post?

FBA tweaks in pipeline

The Foreign Business Act will be amended soon to better facilitate foreign investment in Thailand, according to Suwit Khunkitti, the deputy prime minister and industry minister. He made the comment yesterday after meeting with the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce of Thailand.

//limit to first paragraph - lopburi3//

I wonder how many farangs will now start to support our new government.....

[apetley]

I am not surprised that they are seeking outside investment as their own is at at all time low.

I know alot of that can be blamed on the previous 'administration' but lack of home grown investment has always been a problem in Thailand.

[BigSnake]

Good News??? Maybe maybe not.

[jaidam]

Sounds like very good news. My lawyer was just this morning saying that he heard the govt are discussing allowing foreigners to own more than 49% of a company. Good luck for property owners. Also longer business visas.

[Pierrot]

Every day, I find this government more sympathetic !!

Edited March 8, 2008 by Pierrot

[samran]

I am not surprised that they are seeking outside investment as their own is at at all time low.

I know alot of that can be blamed on the previous 'administration' but lack of home grown investment has always been a problem in Thailand.

Thailand's FTA's were negotiated by the Thaksin government.

Using the Thai - Australia FTA as an example, there is already provision there for easier and longer work permits for Australians, as well as automatic work rights for the spouses of those posted here under the FTA. None of this has ever been implemented fro the Thai side though.

So, I don't really know what they are a talking about, unless they are meaning they are going to enforce to rules that are already there.

More smoke and mirrors me thinks.

[Old Man River]

I am not surprised that they are seeking outside investment as their own is at at all time low.

I know alot of that can be blamed on the previous 'administration' but lack of home grown investment has always been a problem in Thailand.

Thailand's FTA's were negotiated by the Thaksin government.

Using the Thai - Australia FTA as an example, there is already provision there for easier and longer work permits for Australians, as well as automatic work rights for the spouses of those posted here under the FTA. None of this has ever been implemented fro the Thai side though.

So, I don't really know what they are a talking about, unless they are meaning they are going to enforce to rules that are already there.

More smoke and mirrors me thinks.

Samran, based on the PPP's comments, their intent will be to do more than just smoke and mirrors, and frankly it will have to be more if they want to accomplish making Thailand "the place" for long term investment in southeast Asia again. The PPP has a problem on this. In the past, administrations just looked the other way when majority foreign ownership structures (nominees, preferred share structures etc.) were put in place. Now foreign decision makers want something in writing, similar to VN, since they know at any time a non-elected government can come into power and retroactively overturn the loopholes that were allowed by elected governments. Hence, just saying business as usual is no longer good enough for foreign decision makers who have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders.

Therefore, simply rolling back the FBA to where it was pre-coup is now not enough. They will have to officially, in writing, put something in place and how they do this is going to be tricky. Still, the upside is tremendous. If there is anything Thaksin knows about, it is power and money.

[mellow1]

The mindset of how can we screw the Farang won't change overnight. They will wait to do anything substantial until the trend is irreversible.

[samran]

I am not surprised that they are seeking outside investment as their own is at at all time low.

I know alot of that can be blamed on the previous 'administration' but lack of home grown investment has always been a problem in Thailand.

Thailand's FTA's were negotiated by the Thaksin government.

Using the Thai - Australia FTA as an example, there is already provision there for easier and longer work permits for Australians, as well as automatic work rights for the spouses of those posted here under the FTA. None of this has ever been implemented fro the Thai side though.

So, I don't really know what they are a talking about, unless they are meaning they are going to enforce to rules that are already there.

More smoke and mirrors me thinks.

Samran, based on the PPP's comments, their intent will be to do more than just smoke and mirrors, and frankly it will have to be more if they want to accomplish making Thailand "the place" for long term investment in southeast Asia again. The PPP has a problem on this. In the past, administrations just looked the other way when majority foreign ownership structures (nominees, preferred share structures etc.) were put in place. Now foreign decision makers want something in writing, similar to VN, since they know at any time a non-elected government can come into power and retroactively overturn the loopholes that were allowed by elected governments. Hence, just saying business as usual is no longer good enough for foreign decision makers who have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders.

Therefore, simply rolling back the FBA to where it was pre-coup is now not enough. They will have to officially, in writing, put something in place and how they do this is going to be tricky. Still, the upside is tremendous. If there is anything Thaksin knows about, it is power and money.

sorry, you must forgive me for not being clear.

I never meant to say that the FBA's would be rolled back to pre-coup (as if that would be some type of advance). That would imply there was progress in implementing the promises put in to the FTA's regarding work permit in the first place. There wasn't.

You also must forgive me as well for not explaining my background. I worked between 2001 and 2004 for the Thaksin administration, writing these type of press releases and English langage speeches for ministers and senior civil servants going on about 'government policy' and 'economic reform' in words that would bring comfort to foreign investors ears.

Please humour me in thinking that this statement is like all the other ones I wrote. Smoke and mirrors.

[Thai at Heart]

I am not surprised that they are seeking outside investment as their own is at at all time low.

I know alot of that can be blamed on the previous 'administration' but lack of home grown investment has always been a problem in Thailand.

Thailand's FTA's were negotiated by the Thaksin government.

Using the Thai - Australia FTA as an example, there is already provision there for easier and longer work permits for Australians, as well as automatic work rights for the spouses of those posted here under the FTA. None of this has ever been implemented fro the Thai side though.

So, I don't really know what they are a talking about, unless they are meaning they are going to enforce to rules that are already there.

More smoke and mirrors me thinks.

Samran, based on the PPP's comments, their intent will be to do more than just smoke and mirrors, and frankly it will have to be more if they want to accomplish making Thailand "the place" for long term investment in southeast Asia again. The PPP has a problem on this. In the past, administrations just looked the other way when majority foreign ownership structures (nominees, preferred share structures etc.) were put in place. Now foreign decision makers want something in writing, similar to VN, since they know at any time a non-elected government can come into power and retroactively overturn the loopholes that were allowed by elected governments. Hence, just saying business as usual is no longer good enough for foreign decision makers who have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders.

Therefore, simply rolling back the FBA to where it was pre-coup is now not enough. They will have to officially, in writing, put something in place and how they do this is going to be tricky. Still, the upside is tremendous. If there is anything Thaksin knows about, it is power and money.

sorry, you must forgive me for not being clear.

I never meant to say that the FBA's would be rolled back to pre-coup (as if that would be some type of advance). That would imply there was progress in implementing the promises put in to the FTA's regarding work permit in the first place. There wasn't.

You also must forgive me as well for not explaining my background. I worked between 2001 and 2004 for the Thaksin administration, writing these type of press releases and English langage speeches for ministers and senior civil servants going on about 'government policy' and 'economic reform' in words that would bring comfort to foreign investors ears.

Please humour me in thinking that this statement is like all the other ones I wrote. Smoke and mirrors.

This is definitely a wait and see situation. The people in power now are not dummies. They know a company is extremely scared of investing here now that the nominee window is closed. If only for their own economic good they relax the ownership laws Thailand might rise up the list of places to invest very rapidly.

[advice]

The Wall Street Journal had an article of late that said Thailand was the best investment opportunity in Asia or something along those lines.. Anyone else see that article?? if so and you have the link, please post.. I might of misquoted as it was very early morning when I read it.