Starting A Business In Koh Phangan

[HedKeeQuai]

I am very interested in starting up a tourism/extreme sport-related business/service on Koh Phangan.

It is something that nobody is doing there yet.

I'm just wondering what it would entail?

Can anyone give me a rough idea on business fees+charges needed to get started?

Also, is there a possibility that it will upset the locals?

[PoorSucker]

You will need 2 million in capital to form a company, 30 % must be capitalized.

You will need to employ four Thais / foreigner to get work permits.

Look at 630.000 baht to set up the company alone.

[sbk]

upsetting the locals depends on you. It should be noted that most of the people on the island are no longer local so bear that in mind, more than 2/3 of the population are people there just to do business

[PoorSucker]

Do not do like these people.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/585329-phangan-paragliders-created-uproar-by-vandalizing-tree/

[angiud]

A few kind of business are almost completely local people turf. Among them a few water/extreme/tourist sports. That doesn't means you'll upset them, but check carefully before any investment and sound a few months the local situation.

Good luck!

[HedKeeQuai]

You will need 2 million in capital to form a company, 30 % must be capitalized.

You will need to employ four Thais / foreigner to get work permits.

Look at 630.000 baht to set up the company alone.

Thanks for the info, can you please elaborate a bit more? Do you mean 30% in cash the rest in assets?

Will the 2 million include everything from scratch? (including work permits for 1 or 2 foreigners?).

Also is it adequate (legal-wise) to employ 2 foreigners + 2 Thais?

A friend of mine said he paid only 25K baht to set up a company, this was around 10 yrs ago.

upsetting the locals depends on you. It should be noted that most of the people on the island are no longer local so bear that in mind, more than 2/3 of the population are people there just to do business

That's what I mean, the "locals" that are there to do business.

A few kind of business are almost completely local people turf. Among them a few water/extreme/tourist sports. That doesn't means you'll upset them, but check carefully before any investment and sound a few months the local situation.

This I definitely am aware of, like I said this is new and nobody is doing it there yet.

I'm just concerned that when/if I start to make a lot of baht that the locals will want a piece of the pie or consider myself a threat/threaten me. I would hate to start up something and then have it end due to this happening. Just wondering if anyone can give me a realistic assessment (but I understand the sometimes lawless nature of doing business in Thailand).

Thank you I appreciate the help

[Tropicalevo]

It is difficult to generalise on the 'upset the local people' question.

The most common reactions are to watch and wait - if you are successful then

- your rent on your next lease will go up LOTS.

- your Thai staff (having learnt how you work) will set up in competition with you and try and undercut your prices. However - your English skills will usually mean that you beat them

- other foreigners will try to emmulate you or even muscle in.

- if you have a business partner - your business partner is more likely to cause you problems than the local people. (The partner scenario happens more often than people think it does!)

Running your own business - on your own - is bluddy tough.

Thai locals taking over a business that they do not know does not happen that often - IMHO.

Edited February 27, 2013 by Tropicalevo

[HedKeeQuai]

re: rent: I only need to "rent" a small area of the beach. Do you know who controls this? Who I have to pay/prices etc?

I will probably look to also rent a small office area but this can be moved at will and is not extremely important. (Do I NEED to do this as part of the business?)

I guess I can't stop Thai staff from undercutting me, but I assume that foreigners are more likely to trust other foreigners when it comes to potentially dangerous activities.

I am most worried about being threatened with physical harm, kidnapped, shot.. things like that.

[PoorSucker]

Thanks for the info, can you please elaborate a bit more? Do you mean 30% in cash the rest in assets?

Will the 2 million include everything from scratch? (including work permits for 1 or 2 foreigners?).

Also is it adequate (legal-wise) to employ 2 foreigners + 2 Thais?

A friend of mine said he paid only 25K baht to set up a company, this was around 10 yrs ago.

That's the rule, 30% cash rest in assets.

You must employ 4 Thais / alien, in your case 8 Thais.

I also set up a company 10 years ago for that amount.

Don't know if it's possible any-more.

Best to contact a local lawyer that can help you form a company.

[PoorSucker]

re: rent: I only need to "rent" a small area of the beach. Do you know who controls this? Who I have to pay/prices etc?

You can not rent parts of the beach, period.

All beach land in Thailand belongs to the king.

Any further inquires about illegal activity will be removed.

[HedKeeQuai]

OK, apologies.
I assumed it was a governmental division that regulated the operation of beach-based activities.

[Tropicalevo]

re: rent: I only need to "rent" a small area of the beach. Do you know who controls this? Who I have to pay/prices etc?

I will probably look to also rent a small office area but this can be moved at will and is not extremely important. (Do I NEED to do this as part of the business?)

I guess I can't stop Thai staff from undercutting me, but I assume that foreigners are more likely to trust other foreigners when it comes to potentially dangerous activities.

I am most worried about being threatened with physical harm, kidnapped, shot.. things like that.

Definitely talk to a reputable lawyer (search in the forum)

As PS said - the beach belongs to HMTK. You cannot rent or run a business from the beach. You have to rent a beach-side office/land/property.

For the work permit you must have an office. I have to provide photos of my office and staff every year when re-newing my WP.

Threatened with physical harm - happens a lot when there is alcohol involved . Being harmed - more danger in riding a motorbike. Kidnapped/shot - very rare in spite of what all of the doommongerers say. (Unless you are Russian if other threads are to be believed. )

There are numerous rumours about how dangerous the islands are for foreigners. That is all they are. Rumours. I have had more death threats from Westerners than from Thais (1-0). <deleted> does happen now and again but head down, work hard and be honest!

Good Luck JFDI

[sbk]

First lesson if you go to Koh Phangan. Not all Thais are locals. Don't make that mistake. Locals are people from the island, born there, live there and participate in the local community. Most others are just there to make a quick baht. And yes in general they run the water sports businesses but not always.

And what I mean is if you come across with a chip on your shoulder and are less than polite then you will most likely have problems. Business in a small place is more than just business, its about personal relations.

[HedKeeQuai]

Tropicalevo: Thank you very much, that's a massive help

sbk: Thanks for the tip, I'm definitely aware of this. Diplomacy is my strong point, I speak Thai quite well, I've lived on a Thai island before and I understand the people and the culture. I rarely have problems with anyone so I'm not worried about that at all.

[HedKeeQuai]

I have one more question:
Does anyone know if there is some division like a local maritiime authority that would regulate which water-based activities are allowed and how?

[PoorSucker]

I have one more question:

Does anyone know if there is some division like a local maritiime authority that would regulate which water-based activities are allowed and how?

Navy /Marine Police - 077.421.245

[Gulfsailor]

I have one more question:

Does anyone know if there is some division like a local maritiime authority that would regulate which water-based activities are allowed and how?

If you want to offer anything motorised, the crafts need to be registered and operated by a person with Thai skipper licence. Think harbour department, insurance company, TAT licence, etc. Actually even small crafts like dinghies and surfboards officially needs registering, but if there is no engine involved, authorities won't bother.

Regarding use of beach; although you could set up shop on the beach in the morning, and remove everything before sunset, most beach properties act as if they own the beach. Best would be to show your plan to a well established beach side resort, and ask them if you can operate in front of their place. They can then also provide security at night, plus you have some potential customers already. In return you pay a few thousand baht per month and offer commission or discount for customers coming from their resort.

[Taco]

I have two restaurants in Koh Phangan, one open over 7 years. Koh Phangan, compared to other tourist islands is a relatively easy place to do business, but a relatively difficult place to make much profit. Most businesses dont last more then a year or two. There is not much mafia style pressure outside of haad rin and the police are not very difficult or very expensive to deal with. (especially compared to Phuket) Due to the fact we have yet to have any excise office or immigration office on the island it also is easy to get away with a lot. (fill in your own blanks).. still fairly wild west here and as long as you dont take too much rice out of your neighbor's bowl you should be ok.

[loeuftok]

I agree with Taco.

As long as you do not do any business that is already operated by Thais you will be OK.

I have 3 different businesses on the island for the last 10 years and never got any problem.

If you want to do something that is sea related, renting some space in a resort is your best option.

As mentionned above, you need to create a co ltd, with at least a capital of 2M thb and employ 4 thais to be able to get 1 work permit, 4M thb and 8 thais for two work permits.

Since the island is still pretty cool, there is not much control about these theoretical conditions.

I am also in watersport.

Since you want to do something that do not exist yet, feel free to pm me for further discussions.