At What Age Can Children Be Shareholders?

[gregb]

Is it possible to list my Thai children as the majority shareholders in a private Thai limited corporation? I know that in order to establish the company that everyone must be at least 20 years of age, but can this be changed after incorporation?

If so, what is the minimum age at which the shares can be assigned to their name? If this age is less than the age of majority, who is responsible for legally exercising their voting rights?

[SunbeltAsiaExpert]

The general rule is that any person, regardless of age is allowed to own shares in a company so technically speaking, your son/daughter can be your business partner despite his or her 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 of persons, age 12 years or more, who are establishing the business or company in preparation to registering the company. Hence the named promoter –the person 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.

Sunbelt Asia’s Thailand company set up has formed thousands of different companies throughout Thailand and our clients return to us often for future business and legal assistance…so that shows they are happy with the results! Thai company set-ups can be done quickly and easily at Sunbelt Asia.

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