Business Registration

[laughingbuddha]

My son is 15 has Thai Passport and although he's born in the UK can he register a Business in Thailand and have me as a partner in the Business ?

[SunbeltAsiaExpert]

The general rule is that any person, regardless of age is allowed to own shares in a company so technically speaking, your son can be your business partner despite his age. However, bear in mind that there is a difference between being a “shareholder” and being a “promoter”. A promoter is a natural person or a group or persons, age 12 years or more, who are establishing the business or company in preparation to registering the company. Hence the name promoter -promoting the start-up of the company. Shareholders on the other hand can be natural person(s) or juristic person(s) owning shares in a company. Once a company has been officially registered, a list of shareholders will be released (bor or jor 5) with their corresponding amount of shares. These shares may be transferred to another person (whether natural or juristic).

A minor person can be a shareholder in a company but they cannot be a promoter if they are below 12 years old. The shares may be transferred to them at a later stage but it cannot be owned during the registration of the company. Furthermore, only until they reach the age of majority (20) can they be appointed as “Managing Director” of the company.

To conclude: any persons, regardless of age, can own shares in a company even right after birth; but only persons from 12 years old or more can promote or start the company (as original shareholders). As for your case, since your son is already 15 years old, he can be a “”promoter”, a “shareholder” and register a company with you as his business partner along with another promoter (registering a company requires 3 promoters). He can only become a “Managing Director” however, upon reaching the age of 20.

www.sunbeltlegaladvisors.com

26th Floor Fortune Town BR, 1 Ratchadapisek Rd, 10400 Bangkok

Tel: 02-642-0213 Fax: 02-641-1995

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