Why Do So Many Farangs Come To Thailand Then Ask For You To Invest In Their Start Up Business

[Jaybonnaza]

OK in the last 3 weeks i have been asked to in the next "big" sausage takeaway company (hot dog), 300k baht, a stags and hens do company 500k baht, and many months ago i was asked if i would fund 1 million baht in a stock selling company - oh no!!!! lol

Ok the first two the gent was nice known him all of 5 mins and well his business ideas will fall on their face....

the last one i now know as a crook, and keep away from said crook. however it brings to mind the question on why or how many mugs fall for this???

A) 500k/300k is not a lot of money to any one moving here regardless of your circumstances, you should not be living here with out a medium to large amount sitting in the bank! false stop it isnt safe when you run out unless you are the chap who did a runner leaving a rental bill - <deleted>!!!

but what really makes these people think that they are going to move to the other side of the world and make a killing without a good investment at least???? come on you have to invest money or time which ultimately is money to make money...

further more what makes them think a complete stranger up until 5 days ago is going to give them money????

...........

the 1 million baht was from a very well respected in certain groups of people and a very un well respected person in other groups of people.

and being asked to front money for what could only be illegal i tightly nope !

but once again what makes these people think they are going to get money from others????

Whats your thoughts on this as seasoned expats? ever been in the situation?

buying land, or real estate yes if i believe it would pay off i would look at, but all these other things i cant understand why people think they will make a fast buck with this type of start up company and little or no initial investment from them self hoping i or you would invest in them a complete stranger???

............

[rene123]

For every conman there is a sucker waiting to be fleeced comes to mind.

[Fgis]

Maybe you look like the guy to whom we can get 1 million easily ?

Nobody ever asked me anything even though they know that I have, weird, no ?

:-)

[SeaVisionBurma]

Flame and reply moved.

...and another general warning to post in appropriate language.

[Jaybonnaza]

Flame and reply moved.

...and another general warning to post in appropriate language.

Did i get a general warning? i thought the forum automatically filtered and reworded ???

[SeaVisionBurma]

Flame and reply moved.

...and another general warning to post in appropriate language.

Did i get a general warning? i thought the forum automatically filtered and reworded ???

It re-spells some words but not all. That is besides the point.

Thai Visa rules:

3) Not to post in a manner that is vulgar, obscene or profane

Its up to you not to use inappropriate language. Tone it down.

[Gweiloman]

OP, maybe you should consider the circles you move in.

[Jaybonnaza]

OP, maybe you should consider the circles you move in.

hi there Gwelloman yes in regards to the madman thinking i was going to give him 1mill i just laughed and said nope, never heard from him again, as in the other two these were just young enthusiastic lads, felt sorry but ultimately what they have planned will fail, i mix with all sorts out here just if i feel they are shady i stop going near them or even replying to msgs or ignoring them when out.

but as ive learned out here, you dont really know anyone

[JLCrab]

I have received 'great business opportunities' from English-speaking Thais as well.

[Ricardo]

One golden-rule here is not to lend to locals, especially without security, the next is not to lend to other farangs either.

Not excluding brothers-in-law, or other family-members, who want to buy a car as a taxi, or a herd of soon-to-be-sick buffalo, or start a village-shop/petrol-station.

The theory seems to be, if you can afford to lend it, then you can afford to loose it too, so they needn't bother to repay any loan ! Oh, and you won't expect to see any interest either, as you're a milti-millionaire, already.

Your wife will sometimes have your financial-interests at-heart, but is also expected to help the rest of her family, especially ma/pa, Use your discretion !

Explain politely that you'd love to help them, but that the Global-Financial-Crisis or strong Baht, unfortunately make it impossible at present ... Sorry !

Edited April 23, 2013 by Ricardo

[ABCer]

One golden-rule here is not to lend to locals, especially without security, the next is not to lend to other farangs either.

Not excluding brothers-in-law, or other family-members, who want to buy a car as a taxi, or a herd of soon-to-be-sick buffalo, or start a village-shop/petrol-station.

The theory seems to be, if you can afford to lend it, then you can afford to loose it too, so they needn't bother to repay any loan ! Oh, and you won't expect to see any interest either, as you're a milti-millionaire, already.

Your wife will sometimes have your financial-interests at-heart, but is also expected to help the rest of her family, especially ma/pa, Use your discretion !

Explain politely that you'd love to help them, but that the Global-Financial-Crisis or strong Baht, unfortunately make it impossible at present ... Sorry !

Bravo, Ricardo! You have learned the Eastern Ways. I am not so flexible and prefer a NO. Usually said emphatically it stops the conversation dead.

Pardon the lack of sophistication...

[ABCer]

OP, they may be telling the truth. Look in the mirror, maybe you need a change of facial expression to the worse?

[Gsxrnz]

I've been offered similar "amazing" investment opportunities as the OP. Don't think I look gullible as such, but then I guess it's all down to the eye of the beholder. I have a bit of fun with these opportunities - start talking cashflow forecasts, 3 year rolling budgets, internal rates of return etc., and the prospective borrower's eyes glaze over and that's the end of the discussion. I then offer to do some budgets and forecasting models for them at 2,000 baht per hour and watch them run like hell.

I have a good friend that got the sharemarket tip of a lifetime from a bloke in a bar - said bloke gave the impression that he was a millionaire, had contacts with foreign governments etc., and was quite believable. I did some quick research on the web and found he was a local low-life with a history of dodgy dealings. I had to nail my friends feet to the ground to stop him putting 1/3 of his life's savings into the shares. Since we got the tip, the shares have halved in value. I think the bloke was simply trying to be a "noter" as there was no personal gain opportunity for him, but he had influence and I wonder if there are others out there who actually believed him and have done their dough already.

[guzzi850m2]

Scammers are all over world, Thais scammed out of their money is common too so why no expat's as well.

A lot of e-net scammers are being busted in Thailand now which is good.

It's just a bunch of low life scum that can't make a honest living and having no morale how they get money.

[Keith67]

Some of the younger guy's that come here as said come with very little finances and the reason for this in my opinion is largely down to some of the expat investors here, they go back to their home country and for fear of the "i told you so's" generally make out their move here to invest has paid massive dividends, the younger blokes hear this and think they can do the same plus live in a land where women are plenty and the lifestyle would far outweigh the one they have now.

The reality only sinks in when they get here and have been here a month or 2 and see what it's really like, their finance disappear at an alarming rate and desperation starts to sink in, the inevitable happens they meet some guy who tells them he has a plan but needs 10 investors at 300K each and he will pay commission for all investors they find, they go out to find complete strangers to earn a living from not even knowing what might happen to the guy they get the money from.

All in all though if a guy has a business plan and want's to discuss it in a bar where girls are dancing half naked on the bar in front of you it's a scam, and that goes for any business offer made in any bar. I couldn't imagine Richard Branson or Stelios offering investment opportunities to anyone in a bar environment could you?

Edited April 23, 2013 by Keith67

[Jaybonnaza]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one and some tactics to use int he future so I don't look stumped lol

It was 1 million baht not pounds lol

The problem I see here is they will be gone in side 6 months yet another load will turn up lol never ending

[Ricardo]

One golden-rule here is not to lend to locals, especially without security, the next is not to lend to other farangs either.

Not excluding brothers-in-law, or other family-members, who want to buy a car as a taxi, or a herd of soon-to-be-sick buffalo, or start a village-shop/petrol-station.

The theory seems to be, if you can afford to lend it, then you can afford to loose it too, so they needn't bother to repay any loan ! Oh, and you won't expect to see any interest either, as you're a multi-millionaire, already.

Your wife will sometimes have your financial-interests at-heart, but is also expected to help the rest of her family, especially ma/pa, Use your discretion !

Explain politely that you'd love to help them, but that the Global-Financial-Crisis or strong Baht, unfortunately make it impossible at present ... Sorry !

Bravo, Ricardo! You have learned the Eastern Ways. I am not so flexible and prefer a NO. Usually said emphatically it stops the conversation dead.

Pardon the lack of sophistication...

Thank-you, no need to pardon any lack of sophistication, you just (like me) prefer to say what you mean, in the hope that the message gets across ! Bravo back at you !

There's no upside to making someone lose face, especially family-by-marriage, is there ?

And your wife (or, not to be sexist, husband if you're female) gains/loses face (as I understand it ... very imperfectly, no doubt) if the new husband she brings into the family, later turns out to be tight or rude ! wouldn't want to upset 'the boss' unnecessarily, would we ? ! I quite like not sleeping alone !

In the UK, I used to use the line :- "That sounds very interesting, but I must consult my financial-adviser, whose instructions I'm bound to follow", followed-on later (if necessary) by "I'm terribly sorry, but my evil wicked financial-adviser says No Way, if only I didn't have to follow his advice, then I'd love to help." And I am (of course) my own financial-adviser ...

These days my financial-self-adviser tells me, I already have too large a proportion of my/our assets in this one country, so sadly should not bring in even more ! Which leads to the "Never bring into Thailand, money which you can't afford to walk away from, if need be" Golden-Rule. I myself aimed for a 10%-maximum, and am currently at about 20%-in-Thailand, most of it locked-up fairly-safely in house and land.

Also I wouldn't try to claim, that I haven't ever given money to Ma/Pa, when really required to by my wife's (or my own) culture, medical-costs for example or Chinese-New-Year gift or red-envelope for a newborn cousin of my own kids, only that I knew at-the-time it was a gift, not a loan which later turned out to be a gift !

I believe that one more Golden-Rule, applying specifically to newbie-husbands/boyfriends from Farangland, is not to appear too rich or generous, too early-on. It is so very painful to reign things in, later on, if you've sent the wrong signals during the early days.

Edited April 23, 2013 by Ricardo

[Kilgore Trout]

Whatever "race" they be, I suspect you probably look and act like a chump.

[HardenedSoul]

I find it amusing when - even knowing that I trade for living - some Jack-the-Lad types will try to tell me about some fantastic stock scheme a friend of theirs is involved in.

I just stop them mid-flow with the words, "Mate! Just stop"

90% stop immediately while the remainder respond with "Yeah. It's all kosher" at which point I just excuse myself to the restroom.

[fish fingers]

best keep away from people like this. Then again the world wants to make money and you have to make a judgment on what is a good business opportunity and what isn't, if you don't know the person or don't know anything about the subject you'd be a fool

[yoshiwara]

Some scams are professionally organised, namely MLM (multi-level marketing) so it isn't necessarily an obviously dodgy geezer talking to you

[Gulfsailor]

Some of the younger guy's that come here as said come with very little finances and the reason for this in my opinion is largely down to some of the expat investors here, they go back to their home country and for fear of the "i told you so's" generally make out their move here to invest has paid massive dividends, the younger blokes hear this and think they can do the same plus live in a land where women are plenty and the lifestyle would far outweigh the one they have now.

The reality only sinks in when they get here and have been here a month or 2 and see what it's really like, their finance disappear at an alarming rate and desperation starts to sink in, the inevitable happens they meet some guy who tells them he has a plan but needs 10 investors at 300K each and he will pay commission for all investors they find, they go out to find complete strangers to earn a living from not even knowing what might happen to the guy they get the money from.

All in all though if a guy has a business plan and want's to discuss it in a bar where girls are dancing half naked on the bar in front of you it's a scam, and that goes for any business offer made in any bar. I couldn't imagine Richard Branson or Stelios offering investment opportunities to anyone in a bar environment could you?

Agreed to the opportunity offering in a bar. That said, my best deal in Thailand was orally agreed upon in a gogo, with contracts signed the next day. Not easy for a prospective buyer to get back on his word, after you dropped him and two gogo girls at his hotel. He was a bit embarrassed the next day when he showed up in the office...

Edit to add; Also known as the Japanese way of doing business.

Edited April 23, 2013 by Gulfsailor

[stiggy]

I was offered to buy in a company in Thailand (9 years ago) for the cost of a car in Europe. This was from some one I had then met twice, first time at a beach BBQ.

Business is always a risk there is no sure thing, especially out here. I took that risk,we still own the company we started and have done great from it. It also opened so many other doors that it changed my life.

I feel learning to trust is harder than closing down every opportunity with a no.

Of course I have had to sit through countless go nowhere business ideas from others since, and seen people that think that money will just be all that is needed,the scammers are easy to spot in my opinion.Just say no, no one can force money out of you.

Bottom line if it seems to good probably is, if they state it will be easy stay away.

Nothing in life is easy especially start ups, the harder you work the luckier you get from my experience.

Edited April 23, 2013 by stiggy

[jbrain]

I have received 'great business opportunities' from English-speaking Thais as well.

It is a known fact that business offers from Thais are the creme de la creme in business, not ?

[jbrain]

I was offered to buy in a company in Thailand (9 years ago) for the cost of a car in Europe. This was from some one I had then met twice.

Business is always a risk there is no sure thing, especially out here. I took that risk,we still own the company we started and have done great from it. It also opened so many other doors that it changed my life.

Bottom line if it seems to good probably is, if they state it will be easy stay away.

Nothing in life is easy, the harder you work the luckier you get from my experience.

Must have been an escort company

[Loptr]

I have received 'great business opportunities' from English-speaking Thais as well.

It is a known fact that business offers from Thais are the creme de la creme in business, not ?

Almost as good as being invited to a card game by a Thai.

[JLCrab]

A Thai friend asked me how can he sell his already substantial business to another Thai person as this type business must be Thai majority owned.

I told him, if you want to sell your business for $US 1 million, find a Thai person who thinks it's really worth $US 2 million and he's the one cheating you.

[MrWorldwide]

I dont spend a lot of time in bars in Oz, but I know how the vast majority of Aussies would react to someone 'pitching a startup' to them in a pub. At best, it would involve some colorful language - at worse, violence.

I cant believe that anyone is sufficiently gullible to get sucked into such a deal. Even if I do succumb to the booze and flooze trap, I consider that a relatively good 'ROI' compared to handing a stranger several hundred thousand baht ....

[Jaybonnaza]

I was offered to buy in a company in Thailand (9 years ago) for the cost of a car in Europe. This was from some one I had then met twice.

Business is always a risk there is no sure thing, especially out here. I took that risk,we still own the company we started and have done great from it. It also opened so many other doors that it changed my life.

Bottom line if it seems to good probably is, if they state it will be easy stay away.

Nothing in life is easy, the harder you work the luckier you get from my experience.

Must have been an escort company

Already involved in a sexy rooms investment ( yes it is legal we don't rent the girls out - just the rooms /toys )

[bangkokburning]

Let me guess...

You are well off

+62

English

Live in Pattaya, Phuket or possibly CM.

All propositions have come from UK malrs under 55