Thai Commerce Ministry Launches Probe Into Irregular Shareholdings By Foreigners

[Bagwan]

I have never understood why other countries do not reciprocate the 'rules and regulations' that countries such as Thailand impose on foreigners. For example, if a Brit cannot own land or property in Thailand , then a Thai should be under the same rules in the UK, if a Brit cannot own a company in Thailand then the same should apply in the UK for Thai nationals. Things would soon change in Thailand, Saudi and the UAE if we simply matched their respective regulations. When the elite suddenly found they cannot own properties in London and shift large amounts of money by say owning football clubs ! Then things would rapidly change for us.

It sounds like the Deputy Commerce Minister has been shafted on a shares deal so has started a vendetta.

By the same token then Thais should be allowed to live in Britain as easily as Brits can live here.

And the Thais to receive the same social benefits that Brits do here?

[h90]

I have never understood why other countries do not reciprocate the 'rules and regulations' that countries such as Thailand impose on foreigners. For example, if a Brit cannot own land or property in Thailand , then a Thai should be under the same rules in the UK, if a Brit cannot own a company in Thailand then the same should apply in the UK for Thai nationals. Things would soon change in Thailand, Saudi and the UAE if we simply matched their respective regulations. When the elite suddenly found they cannot own properties in London and shift large amounts of money by say owning football clubs ! Then things would rapidly change for us.

It sounds like the Deputy Commerce Minister has been shafted on a shares deal so has started a vendetta.

Easy to understand: UK has no problem if someone invest large amounts in UK. So no reason to make it reciprocate. For land and property Thailand has a good reason, because it must prevent that foreigner buy every nice place here. We had the same problems in Austria, every nice place was owned by Germans.

Buying land is also investing in a country isn't it smarty.

What is the problem with Germans buying nice pieces of land land in Australia ?

If some Australian would have liked these pieces of land he should have bought them.

Globalisation brother, equal rights etc. etc.

These Germans in Australia even have a chance of becoming Australians themselves.

Wonderful isn't it !!

Now compare this to the chances foreigners have in Thailand regarding owning land and owning and operating businesses.

I love this country with all my heart, but we must admit that some things should change.

Austria is that country with: Schwarzenegger, Mountains, Skiing, Adolf Hitler, Mozart and lot old buildings.

Australia is that country with kangaroos, lovely nature and that new opera building.

[tzthib]

I love this country with all my heart, but we must admit that some things should change.

You love the place with all your heart just the way it is, why would it change ?

All Farangs know they can't own land in Thailand, they cannot own more than 49% of a Company, the employment opportunities are very restrictive etc etc.

Yet......Still they come.

They leave their own countries where they can buy land, own a company outright and have access to all professions to live in a country where they cannot do these things, therefore that must mean these things were never that important to them.

Thais have got it right, Farangs still bring their money to Thailand no matter what restrictions they face, why should they change the rules that suit them ?

These foreigners come to Thailand with the money they have, but they are not allowed to contribute to the development of Thailand due to these excessive regulations. Many of us "farangs" are highly educated and have could build companies that would be beneficial to all parties involved; the farangs and the Thais. But the Thai government and many Thai citizens do not see past their own nose or the money in the farangs bank account. Instead of coming to Thailand with one pie we could create several pies. So many foreigners here would love to be contribute to Thailand's economy and society, but it seems the powers that be want us to stay where we are: intigrated just enough to continue spending the money we already have but not intigrated to the point to where we can make a decent living here. Seriously, what percentage of us have made any real money in this country? I love Thailand, but sometimes I struggle with this aspect of living here.

[NBD]

Thais have got it right, Farangs still bring their money to Thailand no matter what restrictions they face, why should they change the rules that suit them ?

Still some people come and spend some money. But how much are they losing out on? It's impossible to tell how much would be invested here without the restrictions, but if you have a look here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_received_FDI

then it doesn't seem that the restrictions are doing them so many favours compared with the likes of the UK, US etc. Probably more directly comparable would be Malaysia, who with half the population, and far less tourism but more relaxed restrictions get nearly as much FDI. The Philippines with similar restrictions get less. Presumably owing to the myriad other problems of that country.

More stark still, look at Hong Kong, the 3rd biggest recipient in the world, in a city of similar size to Bangkok, compared with China, with it's 1.3 billion people, vast resources and famed industrial boom, and it attracts about 1/3 of the investment of HK.

In terms of buying land to build a house then people will always figure out some way to do that. When you have the likes of Toyota looking to spend a few billion dollars on a car plant to take advantage of low wage costs, then the rules will be relaxed on a case by case basis. But if you want to attract a steady flow of entrepreneurial investment in productive businesses, and the expertise and resources that come with that, then having an unstable regulatory environment, prohibitive restrictions on ownership and punitive import duties are all bad news.

[simon43]

Daw Aung Suu may be out of detention, but her country not out of the woods by a long way yet, certainly not in the foreseeable future.

Burma/Myanmar is a large country, and like Thailand, it has trouble spots in certain areas. But the vast majority of the country is peaceful and set for an explosion in business investment and tourism. It will take some years for the basic infrastructure to be established in some areas, but Thailand absolutely will lose out big time when the hotels and beach resorts start to open in Burma.

Consider this - Burma has over 800 islands, the largest of which is almost as big as Phuket island.