Investing In Thai Stock Market On Tourist Visa ?

[freedomnow]

Is it possible to invest in the Thai stock market on a longer-term tourist visa ?

There is no CGT on gains here but is it allowed while residing in the country ?

[elektrified]

They don't ask for a copy of your visa when you open a trading account. You must pay tax on dividends - 10% I believe it is. I can't say about capital gains tax as I've not sold any shares. But there may be tax on capital gains.

[freedomnow]

No CGT here on stocks .....Just tax on dividends as you say...and whatever you are liable for as a citizen elsewhere or not.

Guess the the thread will be moved as it is a national question not CM specific...ooops !

[market trader]

The best way to play the Thai stock market is to open a brokerage account at one of the large firms in Singapore. Many of these firms are also set up for online trading therefore avoiding the huge brokerage fees charged when phoning in orders..

[elektrified]

The best way to play the Thai stock market is to open a brokerage account at one of the large firms in Singapore. Many of these firms are also set up for online trading therefore avoiding the huge brokerage fees charged when phoning in orders..

That involves a trip to Singapore. Plenty of good firms here in Thailand where you can open an account and trade on the SET, FTSE, SIX, and dozens of other European and Asian exchanges. On-line trading available.

[eyecatcher]

The best way to play the Thai stock market is to open a brokerage account at one of the large firms in Singapore. Many of these firms are also set up for online trading therefore avoiding the huge brokerage fees charged when phoning in orders..

well one guy did quite well I recall brokering there and brought down the whole bank.,

its just as easy to set up your own account via your own country using the LSE, forex, iii, share centre. many many etc etc.

as for CGT, i dont think many of us need to be concerned about that, I certainly am not....maybe in 3yr hence

[market trader]

The best way to play the Thai stock market is to open a brokerage account at one of the large firms in Singapore. Many of these firms are also set up for online trading therefore avoiding the huge brokerage fees charged when phoning in orders..

That involves a trip to Singapore. Plenty of good firms here in Thailand where you can open an account and trade on the SET, FTSE, SIX, and dozens of other European and Asian exchanges. On-line trading available.

The only trip it requires is the one from your sofa to your computer. You can open an account wherever you wish do it right here with a Thai stock broker up to you..If you were a professional trader then you would know why I suggested Singapore.

[market trader]

The best way to play the Thai stock market is to open a brokerage account at one of the large firms in Singapore. Many of these firms are also set up for online trading therefore avoiding the huge brokerage fees charged when phoning in orders..

well one guy did quite well I recall brokering there and brought down the whole bank.,

its just as easy to set up your own account via your own country using the LSE, forex, iii, share centre. many many etc etc.

as for CGT, i dont think many of us need to be concerned about that, I certainly am not....maybe in 3yr hence

Why are all your comments to postings in TV of such a cynical nature. You must be a very uhappy person. You have rogue traders and bad traders in every country. Your reference to the LSE I am presuming that you are from England. How about the traders in England that have cost J P Morgan 4.5 billion U.S. and counting. How about Barclays bank that was just fined 450 million dollars for rigging libor rates..As I said you have rogue traders and bad traders in all countries.

[mcgriffith]

I have a Maybank Kim Eng acct here in CM. I've traded here for a few years, and am happy with the company, especially their excellent research reports from many sources (all of the major western and Asian investment banks), that they make freely available to all customers.

Maybank Kim Eng is the largest brokerage in Thailand, and the parent company is based in Singapore.

It is a breeze to open a brokerage acct here, with whomever. Lots of brokerages here in CM. Phatra, Bualuang; probably a dozen in total.

All you need is to fund the acct, and set up online access. I don't think your visa status is an issue- they just want a copy of your passport face page to ID you. I offered my Thai visa copies but it was politely declined.

For funding, with MKE you go to one of their offices here, and get the various bank acct numbers that MKE uses in CM.

So say you bank with Siam Commercial Bank.

On the little slip of paper they give you, with all the local banks in CM that MKE has accts with, you effect a transfer from your account (say at SCB) to the MKE acct at SCB here in CM. Take the transfer slip from your bank branch back to the MKE office. They will process it, and your acct will be credited in hours (usually at end of biz day).

For online access, it varies by brokerage, but it took me about 5 minutes at MKE to set up a username and password.

I do have a brokerage acct in the US I trade on as well, but I use the Maybank Kim Eng acct for Thai stock trading.

Hope this helps.

[mcgriffith]

An additional note.

As noted above by other members, there is no capital gains tax charged when selling a security here in Thailand.

There is a 10% withholding for dividend income. Standard under Thai tax law.

Cash interest has a 15% withholding. Same as every bank in Thailand, except for savings accounts with under a 100K balance.

BTW, MKE usually pays a small fraction under what the major Thai banks (BBL, SCB, etc.) pay for a 3 month fixed deposit acct.

So say BBL is paying 2% for a 3 month fixed deposit.

MKE pays 1.9% for cash, and it is instantly available and transferable to a bank acct that you have linked to the brokerage acct. All done online, and takes one day to settle.

So say you want to park some money, possibly trade with it, but still have it available for whatever, without it being tied up in a fixed deposit.

[elektrified]

The only thing about Kim Eng is that you can you can only trade on the SET and 3 or 4 other exchanges like Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia or something like that. I am not sure exactly which countries but they are all in Asia. Actually a good number of brokerage firms in Thailand are only set up to trade on the SET. That doesn't work for me because I trade primarily on the European exchanges. I looked around for quite a while before I found a brokerage firm that was capable of global trading.

Edited July 24, 2012 by elektrified

[mcgriffith]

Yeah, for the pro trader (which I am not), Interactive Brokers is one of several for true global trading.

Excellent execution, trades on every platform worldwide, etc.

http://www.interacti....hk/en/main.php

I just piddle on the Thai market, and devote most of my attention to US securities, through my US brokerage acct.

But for the OP, who wanted to know about trading Thai stocks, KE will work fine.

[YoungBrit]

I have a Maybank Kim Eng acct here in CM. I've traded here for a few years, and am happy with the company, especially their excellent research reports from many sources (all of the major western and Asian investment banks), that they make freely available to all customers.

Maybank Kim Eng is the largest brokerage in Thailand, and the parent company is based in Singapore.

It is a breeze to open a brokerage acct here, with whomever. Lots of brokerages here in CM. Phatra, Bualuang; probably a dozen in total.

All you need is to fund the acct, and set up online access. I don't think your visa status is an issue- they just want a copy of your passport face page to ID you. I offered my Thai visa copies but it was politely declined.

For funding, with MKE you go to one of their offices here, and get the various bank acct numbers that MKE uses in CM.

So say you bank with Siam Commercial Bank.

On the little slip of paper they give you, with all the local banks in CM that MKE has accts with, you effect a transfer from your account (say at SCB) to the MKE acct at SCB here in CM. Take the transfer slip from your bank branch back to the MKE office. They will process it, and your acct will be credited in hours (usually at end of biz day).

For online access, it varies by brokerage, but it took me about 5 minutes at MKE to set up a username and password.

I do have a brokerage acct in the US I trade on as well, but I use the Maybank Kim Eng acct for Thai stock trading.

Hope this helps.

An additional note.

As noted above by other members, there is no capital gains tax charged when selling a security here in Thailand.

There is a 10% withholding for dividend income. Standard under Thai tax law.

Cash interest has a 15% withholding. Same as every bank in Thailand, except for savings accounts with under a 100K balance.

BTW, MKE usually pays a small fraction under what the major Thai banks (BBL, SCB, etc.) pay for a 3 month fixed deposit acct.

So say BBL is paying 2% for a 3 month fixed deposit.

MKE pays 1.9% for cash, and it is instantly available and transferable to a bank acct that you have linked to the brokerage acct. All done online, and takes one day to settle.

So say you want to park some money, possibly trade with it, but still have it available for whatever, without it being tied up in a fixed deposit.

Thank you very much for the info, very useful. I am interested in starting to have a dabble on the Thai stock market. What is the minimum I can start an account with at MKE???

Youngbrit

[eyecatcher]

The best way to play the Thai stock market is to open a brokerage account at one of the large firms in Singapore. Many of these firms are also set up for online trading therefore avoiding the huge brokerage fees charged when phoning in orders..

well one guy did quite well I recall brokering there and brought down the whole bank.,

its just as easy to set up your own account via your own country using the LSE, forex, iii, share centre. many many etc etc.

as for CGT, i dont think many of us need to be concerned about that, I certainly am not....maybe in 3yr hence

Why are all your comments to postings in TV of such a cynical nature. You must be a very uhappy person. You have rogue traders and bad traders in every country. Your reference to the LSE I am presuming that you are from England. How about the traders in England that have cost J P Morgan 4.5 billion U.S. and counting. How about Barclays bank that was just fined 450 million dollars for rigging libor rates..As I said you have rogue traders and bad traders in all countries.

your comments about rogue traders are quite correct but I dont see how you are making that relevant to my comments.

As for me being a very unhappy person yes you are correct I am as miserable as sin.

[mcgriffith]

Thank you very much for the info, very useful. I am interested in starting to have a dabble on the Thai stock market. What is the minimum I can start an account with at MKE???

Youngbrit

I don't think there is a minimum.

You just have to put some money in the acct.

They start out new customers with a cash acct, so you are limited to a trade with what you have.

Commissions are low- minimum is 50 B, and it is fixed at (I recall) .25% of the trade value, until you get up into the big lot category, where the price goes down.

Good Luck, and good trading to you!

[uptheos]

well one guy did quite well I recall brokering there and brought down the whole bank.,

Yeah but poor old Nick did leave a note reading "I'm Sorry" before he fled Singapore.

.

[YoungBrit]

Thank you very much for the info, very useful. I am interested in starting to have a dabble on the Thai stock market. What is the minimum I can start an account with at MKE???

Youngbrit

I don't think there is a minimum.

You just have to put some money in the acct.

They start out new customers with a cash acct, so you are limited to a trade with what you have.

Commissions are low- minimum is 50 B, and it is fixed at (I recall) .25% of the trade value, until you get up into the big lot category, where the price goes down.

Good Luck, and good trading to you!

Ok thanks. Do I have to go down to their office near airport plaza or can I set it up over the internet?

Thanks in advance.

Youngbrit

[elektrified]

Thank you very much for the info, very useful. I am interested in starting to have a dabble on the Thai stock market. What is the minimum I can start an account with at MKE???

Youngbrit

I don't think there is a minimum.

You just have to put some money in the acct.

They start out new customers with a cash acct, so you are limited to a trade with what you have.

Commissions are low- minimum is 50 B, and it is fixed at (I recall) .25% of the trade value, until you get up into the big lot category, where the price goes down.

Good Luck, and good trading to you!

Ok thanks. Do I have to go down to their office near airport plaza or can I set it up over the internet?

Thanks in advance.

Youngbrit

You have to go in person with your passport.

[YoungBrit]

Thank you very much for the info, very useful. I am interested in starting to have a dabble on the Thai stock market. What is the minimum I can start an account with at MKE???

Youngbrit

I don't think there is a minimum.

You just have to put some money in the acct.

They start out new customers with a cash acct, so you are limited to a trade with what you have.

Commissions are low- minimum is 50 B, and it is fixed at (I recall) .25% of the trade value, until you get up into the big lot category, where the price goes down.

Good Luck, and good trading to you!

Ok thanks. Do I have to go down to their office near airport plaza or can I set it up over the internet?

Thanks in advance.

Youngbrit

You have to go in person with your passport.

Thanks very much.

[mcgriffith]

[BlackJack]

another easy way is to look at Myorningstar thailand and it shows funds and there gains losses

Buangluang does pretty well and so you pay some % in commissions but from their figures you are still way in front

[junglechef]

Has anyone used such an account to satisfy the requirement of having X amount of money in Thailand for X amount of time for a visa for Immigration. I expect that if one is actively trading the balance can not go below the requirement on any day. If not can the money in this kind of account kept in cash be sufficient. I'm referring to the Maybank acct. mentioned here. I guesd I should also inquire if this qualifies as in Thailand.

[mcgriffith]

Has anyone used such an account to satisfy the requirement of having X amount of money in Thailand for X amount of time for a visa for Immigration. I expect that if one is actively trading the balance can not go below the requirement on any day. If not can the money in this kind of account kept in cash be sufficient. I'm referring to the Maybank acct. mentioned here. I guesd I should also inquire if this qualifies as in Thailand.

Unfortunately Immigration won't accept monies or securities in brokerage accts to satisfy the requirement for visa extensions.

Only fixed deposit and savings accts at Thai banks.

That might change in the future; who knows....

[elektrified]

Has anyone used such an account to satisfy the requirement of having X amount of money in Thailand for X amount of time for a visa for Immigration. I expect that if one is actively trading the balance can not go below the requirement on any day. If not can the money in this kind of account kept in cash be sufficient. I'm referring to the Maybank acct. mentioned here. I guesd I should also inquire if this qualifies as in Thailand.

Unfortunately Immigration won't accept monies or securities in brokerage accts to satisfy the requirement for visa extensions.

Only fixed deposit and savings accts at Thai banks.

That might change in the future; who knows....

That is true for extensions but not for the initial (O-A Non-Immigrant) Visa. I used my brokerage account in Europe to qualify for my O-A Visa that I got 5 years ago in the USA. The account had to be "guaranteed" by both an account manager and Senior Vice President of the bank. The securities could only be held in a safekeeping account of an International Bank and not something like an on-line brokerage account. Although now that Honorary Thai Consulates in the USA can no longer issue O-A visas and only the Thai Embassy in Washington, D.C. can, they may not be as understanding regarding your overseas assets.

[junglechef]

And there might be a communication issue as when I have had to show proof of income to the Judicial Court System here my lawyer said not to complicate things by mentioning investments as they would not understand how this could be a source of income and disallow my case. Can't say for sure who did not understand what as the lawyer never asked for US Tax documentation as a way to show income either.