Online Business

[Thaifisher]

My partner and I plan to start an online business focused entirely on footwear, exporting these items out of thailand. I am wondering if we have to register as a business as we will not need to hire employees, rent an office, and we will not be selling any goods within thailand. Our servers, banks etc, will be located overseas as well.

My questions are:

-Do we still need a minimum registered capital of 2M baht to register our company?

-Do we need three promoters to start our business? (even though the website itself will be finished upon entering thailand)

-What kind of visa could we enter thailand on, to operate our business? (we do not plan to apply for residency)

-Does our company have to be majority owned by thais when it is based online?

Are there any steps to registration that I have not mentioned and therefore do not know about that you could help me with?

Thanks for your time

[SunbeltAsiaExpert]

When starting a company here in Thailand there are several factors that dictate how you will be setting up your company. With the information you included in your post the most important factor sounds like it will be whether you will be exporting the products for distribution from a foreign location or will you be shipping the product directly to the consumer from Thailand. If you are purchasing the footwear from a manufacturer and then you will have the manufacturer export the products to a distribution center outside of Thailand you can simply place your orders and allow the manufacturer to handle the exporting. If you are doing the same thing but want to control how and when your product is exported thus saving money on the shipping rates then I would recommend that you form a 100% foreign owned Export company keeping in mind the only activity that this type of company can take part in is exporting of product. If you will be doing anything other than exporting the product, whether it be manufacturing, packaging, marketing or anything else in the support of the sales of your footwear then the only option is to set up a Thai company limited which must have at least 2 million THB in registered capital, at least 3 shareholders with 51% of the issued shares being held by a Thai national or juristic individual and you must have a proper corporate address which will include 1 work station and room enough for 4 Thai nationals to work for each work permit issued to foreign nationals.

There is also the possibility of 100% ownership of your company under The Treaty of Amity (USA citizens only), the Board of Investment's (BOI) Alien Business License, or a Representative Office.

This answer is based solely on the information from the post and there can and most likely will be many more issues that need to be discussed and rectified before the setup of your company. Businesses involved in the manufacturing and or export of product have a number of options available so as to best utilize tax advantages and export regulations having the complete picture of the corporate goals is the only way to get a complete answer.

Do you have any questions about getting a Visa for travel/business/retiring/investing in Thailand? Please "ask the visa expert" from Sunbelt Asia here: Thaivisa.com - Ask the Visa Expert from Sunbelt Asia

This information has been provided by Sunbelt Asia Co., Ltd. Sunbelt Asia has been the main sponsor of Thaivisa.com since 2002.

You can contact Sunbelt Asia at (66)2-642-0213 or email us here. Please visit our website for more information on doing business, working, investing, travelling, owning real estate, or starting your own business in Thailand at www.sunbeltasiagroup.com. We are located at 1 Ratchadaphisek Rd., Floor 26, Bangkok, Thailand 10400 and can easily be reached by public transportation.

*This does not constitute legal advice or serve as a substitute for direct legal consultation with a licensed attorney. The information is provided for educational purposes only and it may not account for the specific facts and laws that may be applicable to each individual's situation. Also, there may be changes in the law that may affect your specific case so the answers provided here should not be considered to be applicable your personal situation.

Legal information is not the same as legal advice, which is the application of law by a licensed attorney to an individual's specific circumstances. Although we go to great lengths to make sure our information is accurate and useful, we recommend that you consult a lawyer if you want legal advice specific to the facts surrounding your case. This information does not take the place of discussions with a licensed lawyer and it does not create an attorney-client relationship between readers of the information and Sunbelt Asia, Co. Ltd. or any of its employees.

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