Setting Up A Business In Thailand

[Tonycheston]

Hi

I am pretty sure this will be moved to another forum. The reason I posted here is that I want as many people to read it as possible.

I would like to stay in Thailand (been here 7 months now) and am thinking of opening a business in Krabi area.

I am at the moment in Bangkok. Starting a business here seems to be a very complex thing and reading all the info on the net gets very confusing.

I would like to meet up with somebody (English, German or anyone who speaks fluent English or German) who could explain the correct procedure, the pro's and con's and generally give GOOD advice. The ideal person/people would be someone who has already walked this path, successfully. Even someone who has learnt through making mistakes is welcome to meet up with me.

I am British, 58 years old. Anyone who can give SERIOUS advice and has a few minutes free is most welcome to contact me through this forum.

Thanks

[sbk]

moving to business forum since it received no response in general

[kcallagmy]

I set up a limited company about 6 months ago from scratch. I have already purchased commercial property and done everything 100% legit. I have thai sholders with majority shares but I have majority voting rights. My Thai shareholders are people of fairly good standing and backgrounds so it was a lot of paperwork but not too bad. Had a great lawyer who really helped me. Not one of these ones that you see advertised on websites/newspaper etc. that people complain about (or so it seems)

[nonthaburial]

May be able to help you with an already existing company thats not active PM me

[keestha]

Back in 1993, I was walking in your shoes. I came to Thailand with the idea of starting a business, and during the first few months, I stroke up a lot of conversations with farangs who had businesses in the beach resorts.

The advice these guys were giving was worth almost zilch. Most of these blokes probably didn't have a company or a work permit anyway, the business simply being on the wifes/girlfriends name. In most likelyhood for the vast majority of them, the Thai adventure is gray history already.

Maybe I should have talked to a lawyer, but the idea just didn't enter my thick head. The wealth of information that now can be accessed through the internet, wasn't there yet in those days.

After a few months though, I started thinking: What the fork am I doing, starting a business in a country where I don't speak a word of the language. I will need an interpreter to buy a hammer and nails. So I decided to work as an English teacher for a while first, whilst learning Thai.

So I did, and at the end of 1994 I started my first business, a guesthouse/restaurant/bar in Hua Hin. Only whilst doing this, I learned everything I had to know about legal rules and so on. Not the best way of learning it I admit, it is better to know everything before you start. When I rented the guesthouse for example, I didn't know that the owner of the building was in no way obliged to extend my lease when it would run out in 6 years time.

So when I started my second business, a small resort in Khao Lak that I have been running for 9 years now, I was better prepared.

Please take time for your learning curve.

From this forum, you cannot expect much useful advice if you don't give some additional information, like:

1 What type of business do you have in mind?

2 Will you have to depend on the business financially, or do you get money from home every month and is it more like something to keep you busy?

3 Do you have a Thai wife or girlfriend you have been together with for a long time? In case you cannot speak Thai, I think this would be almost a necessity.

Finally a last word of caution: be careful dealing with farang business owners who might offer you a partnership. Like me, you seem to speak German as a second language, so you might know the German saying: " Huete dich fuer Sturm und Wind, und fuer Deutsche die im Ausland sind" (Beware of storm and wind, and for Germans residing abroad).

Wishing you all the best

Kees.

Edited April 8, 2009 by keestha

[imaneggspurt]

Good buisnessmen will /should succeed anywhere. well almost, however i have to say in my case and a lot of others i found thailand is a very hard place to make money,.i had been in business in the uk all my life and fairly sucessful, however in thailand i kept hitting brick walls, luckily now im retired and someone else does the work, dealing with thais drove me almost mad,.for me there are only 2 ways to be in thailand, on holiday or retired,..i wish anyone statring out in business good luck, but in thailand you will need it more than anywhere else,.