Uk Company Operating In Thailand

[geeit]

If i want to run a company in thailand, is it posible for it to be a uk registered company?

If not, i have also heard of poeple who have registered thai companies and still retained over 80 of the shares. Is ithis possble?

If not does the Thia share holder also have equal rights to the capital and poffits made from the company?

Also once i have registerd a company one way or another, is it possible to buy property through that company which i soley own?

Sorry for all the questions. and thanks for all the help i have recieved so far from the thai expat comunnity.

[Indo-Siam]

I'm going to addres your questions out of order, with a general summary.

If you want to form a Thai Private Co. Ltd. (TPrCL), you must come up with seven initial "promoters" (shareholders). Six of these can own just one share (out of however many shares you register). Typically, if a company registers say 2,000,000 baht in capital, it does so by creating 20,000 shares, ecah with par value of 100 baht.

You can also create a Thai Representative Office of a foreign corporation - that si another process, and realistically only applies if the overseashead office is of a substantial company that has been around a while, and has strong financials. The process starts at the Thai Embassy in country where head office is located - their job is to weed out "shell" or unsubstantial companies.

If you form a TPrCL, it can be majority or completely foreign-owned as long as it is not involved in any of the restricted activities listed in the Foreign Business Act of 1999. If it is involved in any of those activities, it can still be foreign-owned if it obtains an Alien Business License (ABL). To get an ABL, you basically have to demonstrate how your proposed business will benefit Thailand - generally by documenting that you will pay lots of taxes, and hire lots of Thai employees.

Once you have a TPCL established, it may purchase property - but if it is a majority foreign-owned company, you will most likely only be able to obtain a 30 year lease on the land - what you can purchase is the structure built on the land. There are execeptions for condominiums.

The payout of dividends occurs as laid out in your articles of incorporation. Once there is profit, shareholders can meet and vote on declaring and paying a dividend. It then gets paid out according to the decision. Each share gets equal payout - unless your articles of incorporation state otherwise.

There are many other important topics - such as obtaining a work permit and entry permit extension to live here - but you have not asked about those.

If you want more replies here, it would help if you could advise:

1. What is the nature of proposed business?

2. At what level do you propose to capitalize?

3. How many foreigners will seek to work at company and live in Thailand?

4. What sort of property do you want to purchase.

Good luck!

Indo-Siam

[geeit]

Many thanks for your Comprehensive reply.

The company in question is a Diving and Kayaking tours company.

Initial capital will be approx 1,000,000 baht.

Maximum of 2 farangs working, but possibly only one.

wish to purchase two types of property. one as a dive bar, and one as office/Home.

One question regarding the share holders. If i have 1000 shares, do i only need to issue one share each to the six thai sharholders? I was under the impresion that they would have to make 51%. in this sinereo they would only have 0.06%.

Thanks

Geeit

[Indo-Siam]

In a nutshell:

Tourism is a restricted field under the Alien Business Act of 1999. Therefore, you must either be a majority Thai owned company, or you must obtain an Alien Business License (ABL).

To get the ABL, the burden of proof is on you to demonstrate how your business will benefit Thailand - which can most easily be demonstrated by hiring lots of Thais, and paying lots of taxes.

In reality, you should not be "running tours" - at least not openly. That sia tourism business. What you will be doing is an equipment rental business. That is not restricted.

Most likely, you will need to show registered capital of at least two million baht, plus four Thai employees - per work permit. That is, if you want to get a one-year entry permit extension. They are fairly lax on checking in regards to issuing first permits, but you have to have things in order for renewals.

My firm only handles company start-ups in Bangkok, so I'm not read into local practices in seaside areas.

Good luck!

Steve

Indo-Siam