Opening/buying/ Starting Business In Phuket

[petercallen]

Does anyone know the rules and regulations concerning owning a business in phuket, amount of money you have to invest, staffing requirements, if there is age restrictions, taxation requirements, etc.

[KarenBravo]

The rules, regs and requirements for business in Phuket are the same as elsewhere in Thailand.

You should be able to search in the business sub-forum for all the answers that you need.

[MrWiggle]

get in contact with Sunbelt Asia....they have many very good and well priced businesses for sale.....

[gotlost]

Great deals on karaoke bars.

[petercallen]

The rules, regs and requirements for business in Phuket are the same as elsewhere in Thailand.

You should be able to search in the business sub-forum for all the answers that you need.

I am interested in the rules regulations and requirements as they are applied in phuket, it may be the same as visa requirements which seem to be interpreted differently in different areas of Thailand, do you have a business if you do you would know what they are.

[katabeachbum]

Does anyone know the rules and regulations concerning owning a business in phuket, amount of money you have to invest, staffing requirements, if there is age restrictions, taxation requirements, etc.

Minimum capital for a co ltd is 1 mill baht, or 2 mill baht for each farang workpermit.

The rest depends on what you want to do

[petercallen]

Minimum capital for a co ltd is 1 mill baht, or 2 mill baht for each farang workpermit.

The rest depends on what you want to do

Its a business that does not exist in phuket at present i would only manage and employ Thai staff and be leasing the premises, i don't know about forming a company, maybe a partnership with a trustworthy Thai national would be better.

[MrWiggle]

yes, much better.

[seaeagle]

a trustworthy Thai national

Ha, ha - best laugh I've had all day!!!

[petercallen]

a trustworthy Thai national

Ha, ha - best laugh I've had all day!!!

You certainly wont find one working in a bar or massage parlor, i have met plenty of trustworthy honest Thai nationals, i have found in my own experience you have to be more wary dealing with expats living in Thailand chasing the easy baht.

[katabeachbum]

You certainly wont find one working in a bar or massage parlor, i have met plenty of trustworthy honest Thai nationals, i have found in my own experience you have to be more wary dealing with expats living in Thailand chasing the easy baht.

your experince with trustworthy people (from any nation) may change if you have a businesspartner

[petercallen]

your experince with trustworthy people (from any nation) may change if you have a businesspartner

This post as usual on the forum is drifting away from the original post, i have had business partners before and know how to select them, what i would appreciate is information from people legally running businesses in phuket so i can work out if its worth continuing with.

[seaeagle]

your experince with trustworthy people (from any nation) may change if you have a businesspartner

This post as usual on the forum is drifting away from the original post, i have had business partners before and know how to select them, what i would appreciate is information from people legally running businesses in phuket so i can work out if its worth continuing with.

Sorry, petercallen, for perhaps trivialising your post. And I, too, know exactly what you mean when you say there are a fair few untrustworthy expats around. They totally forget what the term "favour" means, and try to do commission deals on the side with Thais that they suggest to you for a service. Dispicable behaviour.

However, I've always had the maxim of "if I need a partner to do business, then I won't do it". Do it yourself, or be EXTREMELY diligent......especially in Phuket.

[petercallen]

Sorry, petercallen, for perhaps trivialising your post. And I, too, know exactly what you mean when you say there are a fair few untrustworthy expats around. They totally forget what the term "favour" means, and try to do commission deals on the side with Thais that they suggest to you for a service. Dispicable behaviour.

However, I've always had the maxim of "if I need a partner to do business, then I won't do it". Do it yourself, or be EXTREMELY diligent......especially in Phuket.

Yes i agree with you, when i have worked in partnership i always had a controlling share of the business, from what i have been told a expat cannot do that in Thailand, it would help hearing from other people with experience of doing business here.

[pagallim]

For the formation of a company, there can only be a maximum of 49% foreign share ownership. There has also to be a minimum of 3 shareholders. Best advice I can offer is to get recommendations for law and accounting companies, and make comparisons of start-up costs, and subsequent requirements for operations (labour laws etc).

[rawaireddragon]

Does anyone know the rules and regulations concerning owning a business in phuket, amount of money you have to invest, staffing requirements, if there is age restrictions, taxation requirements, etc.

It will depend on what nature of business you wish to conduct as to what the best way of setting up a company, if you want to PM me I maybe can help. For example, if you buying a bar beer or a massage the type of set up can be very different than a tour company or dive company as regards work permits, licenses etc. ( I have two bar beers, a guest house, can rental company and a tour office,,, all set up in different ways to minimize hassle and maximize efficiency)

[petercallen]

Does anyone know the rules and regulations concerning owning a business in phuket, amount of money you have to invest, staffing requirements, if there is age restrictions, taxation requirements, etc.

It will depend on what nature of business you wish to conduct as to what the best way of setting up a company, if you want to PM me I maybe can help. For example, if you buying a bar beer or a massage the type of set up can be very different than a tour company or dive company as regards work permits, licenses etc. ( I have two bar beers, a guest house, can rental company and a tour office,,, all set up in different ways to minimize hassle and maximize efficiency)

Thanks for the offer, i am new on the internet and don't have a clue how to AM or PM you, i will ask around and see if i can find out how.

[steelepulse]

Thanks for the offer, i am new on the internet and don't have a clue how to AM or PM you, i will ask around and see if i can find out how.

Click on the members name and a menu will appear where you can PM (Personal Message) said member.

[petercallen]

Thanks for the offer, i am new on the internet and don't have a clue how to AM or PM you, i will ask around and see if i can find out how.

Click on the members name and a menu will appear where you can PM (Personal Message) said member.

Thank you for the information, much appreciated.

[taxin]

I have a business here in Phuket for 5 years so I can relate to Phuket. OK, most of it relates to Thailand in general but heres a few tips anyway.

1. Stay well away from "brokers", or any broker wannabees, Phuket has lots of them. If a business is for sale its very likely for the wrong reasons, Thais (and farangs) generally will not sell a business that is making money, at least not at a good price. If you do insist on buying a 2nd hand business keep an eye out for listings in the Phuket Gazette. This is how most brokers find business's for sale.

2. If you lease a property that you will spend a lot of money on, register the lease at the land office. If the Thai landlord does not want to do this then run a mile. If you ignore this your lease will likely treble after the 1st lease has expired (if your lucky). You should not need a Thai partner, a good Thai manager with experience of running a business will suffice.

3. Remember that everything related to business and the laws of doing business in Phuket is run from Phuket Town. Department of Business Development (where you open a company), tax office, labor department etc, are all in Phuket Town, they are not in Patong or Rawai ! Be careful when a farang recommends a good accountant in Phuket, they dont know what a good accountant is and will likely only be doing this as a favour for someone, this sort of mistake could cost you your business, as it nearly did mine and many others I know. Most accountants particularly in the tourist areas have no knowledge of the Thai law and are only based there to look for vulnerable farangs. There are plenty of reputable accountancy forms in the Phuket town region. Again, a good Thai manager will help.

4. Last of all DO NOT BUY A BAR ! There are successful ones (although I can only count them on 1 hand) in Phuket but the chances of you being successful are very small, the expat bars that do well are all long term bars which have a very good expat following, mainly friends that keep the bar going. If you are new to Phuket with no friends here and you are looking at this option, buy a gun and shoot yourself in the head now. Or at least punch yourself in the gut for even considering it !

Good luck with it all anyway. Phuket is still the best place in Thailand to do business.

[petercallen]

I would like to say thank you to the expat people who have given me information about business in phuket by posting a reply and personally, i am sure other people who may be thinking of a business hear have been following the post to and would welcome any further information, thank you again, peter.

[sorensen]

Does anyone know the rules and regulations concerning owning a business in phuket, amount of money you have to invest, staffing requirements, if there is age restrictions, taxation requirements, etc.

You probably have to be insane to invest in Phuket right now, but not sure if that is included in any regulations or just a general rule of thumb.

[katabeachbum]

The most amazing aspect of farang business in Phuket are all the expats who have never run a business in their homecountry, or at least not a successfull one, all the sudden want to run a business in another country and culture

[stevenl]

You probably have to be insane to invest in Phuket right now, but not sure if that is included in any regulations or just a general rule of thumb.

Why? If you can wait a bit for your business to bring a good ROI, now is an excellent time to invest. Prices are low, you just need some patience.

[petercallen]

The most amazing aspect of farang business in Phuket are all the expats who have never run a business in their homecountry, or at least not a successfull one, all the sudden want to run a business in another country and culture

Speaking for myself i have had several successful businesses in my home country and been sef employed most of my life, are you talking about your own business experiences.

[Damaz6052]

Minimum capital for a co ltd is 1 mill baht, or 2 mill baht for each farang workpermit.

The rest depends on what you want to do

Its a business that does not exist in phuket at present i would only manage and employ Thai staff and be leasing the premises, i don't know about forming a company, maybe a partnership with a trustworthy Thai national would be better.

I run my own business in Phuket, Patong to be exact I did mine 100% legally. I've got a Co Ltd with 2mil registered capital, 4 registered staff I pay tax and social security. I've just received my work permit which is valid for two years. I believe it's easy to register in BKK and the rules are interpreted differently there. Why don't you become the company director yourself if the business is eligable for a work permit? If your an Aussie you should join the Aust Chamber of Commerce it's a great networking organisation.

[petercallen]

I run my own business in Phuket, Patong to be exact I did mine 100% legally. I've got a Co Ltd with 2mil registered capital, 4 registered staff I pay tax and social security. I've just received my work permit which is valid for two years. I believe it's easy to register in BKK and the rules are interpreted differently there. Why don't you become the company director yourself if the business is eligable for a work permit? If your an Aussie you should join the Aust Chamber of Commerce it's a great networking organisation.

Thank you this is the type of information myself and other people are interested in.

[katabeachbum]

The most amazing aspect of farang business in Phuket are all the expats who have never run a business in their homecountry, or at least not a successfull one, all the sudden want to run a business in another country and culture

Speaking for myself i have had several successful businesses in my home country and been sef employed most of my life, are you talking about your own business experiences.

neither talking about you or me, but my general picture of failing businesses run by farang in LOS

[taxin]

The most amazing aspect of farang business in Phuket are all the expats who have never run a business in their homecountry, or at least not a successfull one, all the sudden want to run a business in another country and culture

Speaking for myself i have had several successful businesses in my home country and been sef employed most of my life, are you talking about your own business experiences.

neither talking about you or me, but my general picture of failing businesses run by farang in LOS

There are also lots of people who had business's in their home country, and then come to Thailand with the attitude "Well I did back home so why not here".

Just because you had a business back home does not mean you will hit the ground running in Thailand. It helps if you have some sort of business savvy from a past experience, but its not the key ingredient.

[petercallen]

There are also lots of people who had business's in their home country, and then come to Thailand with the attitude "Well I did back home so why not here".

Just because you had a business back home does not mean you will hit the ground running in Thailand. It helps if you have some sort of business savvy from a past experience, but its not the key ingredient.

Yes i agree with you, that's why i value the reply's of successful local business people which there are a few of believe it or not.