Thailand Well Suited For Operating Headquarters

[bkk_mike]

The fact of the matter is - for a multi-national - Thailand doesn't work as a regional hub.

Take the example of someone coming from an office in another region to spend 3-4 weeks installing and the baby-sitting a software update (I've done this myself before now).

For Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, depending on the country you're from (Indian software engineers have issues in this area), you don't even need to apply for a visa as you get stamped for 3-6 months on arrival(with no visa). For the US and Oz, you apply (online) for an electronic travel authority. i.e. If something is urgent, you can get on a plane that day and not have any visa worries,

For Thailand, you have to apply for a visa and a temporary work permit.

On a one-off basis, it doesn't sound like a lot of hassle, but for a regional hub for a multi-national, this would be something that would be happening on a pretty regular basis.

And that's without the whole work permit issue for staff working here. I worked in a team of 10 in Tokyo, from 9 different countries, One was Thai, one Japanese, two Indians, a Canadian and assorted Europeans (company was American, so English was the language in the office). Japan is not known for having a foreigner friendly immigration system, but has specialist work permits for things like engineers. Does anyone think you could set up a work team like that in Thailand under the Thai work-permit system?

[hellodolly]

Thailand's biggest advantage is that foreign companies are not required to have Thai shareholders and that they can transfer existing non-Thai employees to Thailand without going through the hassle applying for work permits, no 90 days reporting to immigration, exit/reentry visas, et al.

Not being conversant with what all is needed to do business in other countries, I will have to ask you.

Do foreign countries have to jump through all those hoops in all the other countries.

Kinda on the topic. When we were in Phnom Phen 5 years ago with my son he spotted an awful lot of cars there with license plates from states in the US, don't see them here in Thailand. Must be some thing in Cambodia that attracts them. There is an awful lot of oil money floating around there now and labor is cheap.

[jbrain]

@Jbrain

There is a way around, do not hold me to it, But if the office is ONLY administrative or something like that. Its a fine line and not straight forward but can be done

All the online booking sites like booking.com agoda etc they have this set up. No company, just staff. Though all staff are Thai

You are making wild guesses here, as usual. Do you know Agoda's shareholder structure ?

So all staff at Agoda are Thai ? As far as I'm concerned there is a moderator on this forum that works for Agoda and I don't think he's Thai.

[lemoncake]

@Jbrain

There is a way around, do not hold me to it, But if the office is ONLY administrative or something like that. Its a fine line and not straight forward but can be done

All the online booking sites like booking.com agoda etc they have this set up. No company, just staff. Though all staff are Thai

You are making wild guesses here, as usual. Do you know Agoda's shareholder structure ?

So all staff at Agoda are Thai ? As far as I'm concerned there is a moderator on this forum that works for Agoda and I don't think he's Thai.

Oh and here we go

Agoda is owned by Priceline. Priceline is US owned company

Not all staff are Thai, the director is a foreigner

Agoda WAS a Thai company which was bought out by Priceline

Now!! you want to dispute the FACT that company's can set up administrative office without having to register or have thai partners?

Edited April 27, 2013 by lemoncake

[hellodolly]

Does not look like the AEC is going to happen in 2015 or anytime close to it.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (Reuters) - Southeast Asian nations

have quietly begun to row back on a deadline of forming an "economic

community" by 2015, confirming what many economists and diplomats have

suspected for years as the diverse group hits tough obstacles to closer

union.

Rather than referring to the end of 2015 as a firm goal, officials at this year's first summit of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), whose 10 members range from glitzy Singapore to impoverished Myanmar, prefer to call it a "milestone" to be built on in years ahead. In so doing, they are bowing to the reality of slow progress and even some regression on politically sensitive goals, such as eliminating non-tariff barriers and lowering obstacles to the free flow of labor in the diverse region of 600 million people.

http://news.yahoo.com/southeast-asias-2015-unity-dream-collides-reality-212216230.html

An excelent article. It points out many hurdkes facing the completion of the organazation by the end of 2015. It says that although there is close to 80% of the work done the remaining 20% is the tough part.

One of the little details that I liked was

"Complex and unpredictable import standards in some countries - such as

the number of bananas required in a bunch - were holding up the

liberalization of agriculture trade, he said."

That one gave me a good laugh.

[Thai at Heart]

@Jbrain

There is a way around, do not hold me to it, But if the office is ONLY administrative or something like that. Its a fine line and not straight forward but can be done

All the online booking sites like booking.com agoda etc they have this set up. No company, just staff. Though all staff are Thai

You are making wild guesses here, as usual. Do you know Agoda's shareholder structure ?

So all staff at Agoda are Thai ? As far as I'm concerned there is a moderator on this forum that works for Agoda and I don't think he's Thai.

Oh and here we go

Agoda is owned by Priceline. Priceline is US owned company

Not all staff are Thai, the director is a foreigner

Agoda WAS a Thai company which was bought out by Priceline

Now!! you want to dispute the FACT that company's can set up administrative office without having to register or have thai partners?

Well travel agencies cannot be majority foreign owned either.

That's why you have share classes to stay in control but legal.

Edited April 27, 2013 by Thai at Heart

[NongKhaiKid]

Oh indeed, registering a boi regional head quartets may be cheaper than Singapore, but actually running it in singapore, is about 10 times easier.

The problem for some Asian countries including Thailand is the lack of work ethic, how often they change their jobs, don't go to work and leave without any warning.

In the late '90s I was in Manila when the staff of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank went on strike so the bank got temporary work permits for 40 staff from Hong Kong. The local media loved the story that 40 Hong Kong Chinese were doing the work of over 200 Filipinos until the union realised it's strike was dead in the water and on a nationalistic argument forced the government to withdraw the work permits. The strike was subsequently called off but the local media didn't let go of the fact that 40 were dong the job of so many more.

[hellodolly]

'said CB Richard Ellis" in The Nation.

This is an ad article, CB Richard Ellis is a large advertiser in The Nation and a decent size property developer. This story stinks of conflict of interest like nothing else.

Like a editorial as part of the advertising package.

I knew there was errors in the article but I didn't know it was just an advertisement. Thanks for the clarification.

I wonder what they charged him for the article.

Takes me back in time to 7 years ago when I first moved here a friend in Canada had moved to Australia about a year earlier and she warned me that The Nation was not to good for reality.

[lemoncake]

@Jbrain

There is a way around, do not hold me to it, But if the office is ONLY administrative or something like that. Its a fine line and not straight forward but can be done

All the online booking sites like booking.com agoda etc they have this set up. No company, just staff. Though all staff are Thai

You are making wild guesses here, as usual. Do you know Agoda's shareholder structure ?

So all staff at Agoda are Thai ? As far as I'm concerned there is a moderator on this forum that works for Agoda and I don't think he's Thai.

Oh and here we go

Agoda is owned by Priceline. Priceline is US owned company

Not all staff are Thai, the director is a foreigner

Agoda WAS a Thai company which was bought out by Priceline

Now!! you want to dispute the FACT that company's can set up administrative office without having to register or have thai partners?

Well travel agencies cannot be majority foreign owned either.

That's why you have share classes to stay in control but legal.

The ones i am talking about are not travel agents and do not even register as a company in Thailand. As i said, the set up is some what complicated but no registration, no Vat, nothing.

I had to sue Booking.com and lawyers were digging for weeks, but found company was not registered in Thai and operated as an administrative office/agent

[Thai at Heart]

Oh indeed, registering a boi regional head quartets may be cheaper than Singapore, but actually running it in singapore, is about 10 times easier.

The problem for some Asian countries including Thailand is the lack of work ethic, how often they change their jobs, don't go to work and leave without any warning.

In the late '90s I was in Manila when the staff of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank went on strike so the bank got temporary work permits for 40 staff from Hong Kong. The local media loved the story that 40 Hong Kong Chinese were doing the work of over 200 Filipinos until the union realised it's strike was dead in the water and on a nationalistic argument forced the government to withdraw the work permits. The strike was subsequently called off but the local media didn't let go of the fact that 40 were dong the job of so many more.

My previous company has a regional office in Thailand. It can't even be in the same address as the operation they have here.

There are fairly stringent capital requirements too. Plus, the regional office cannot carry out anything on behalf of the local operation. It's too fiddly and ends up actually leading to duplication of jobs.

For example the local entity must handle its own sales despite the regional office being just up the road. They could clear up the bureaucracy and make Thailand a very attractive place for regional offices.

That said would you prefer to sign contracts under Thai or Singaporean law? Even the Thais have many invoicing entities in Singapore for precisely this reason, plus transfer pricing.

Edited April 27, 2013 by Thai at Heart

[jbrain]

@Jbrain

There is a way around, do not hold me to it, But if the office is ONLY administrative or something like that. Its a fine line and not straight forward but can be done

All the online booking sites like booking.com agoda etc they have this set up. No company, just staff. Though all staff are Thai

You are making wild guesses here, as usual. Do you know Agoda's shareholder structure ?

So all staff at Agoda are Thai ? As far as I'm concerned there is a moderator on this forum that works for Agoda and I don't think he's Thai.

Oh and here we go

Agoda is owned by Priceline. Priceline is US owned company

Not all staff are Thai, the director is a foreigner

Agoda WAS a Thai company which was bought out by Priceline

Now!! you want to dispute the FACT that company's can set up administrative office without having to register or have thai partners?

So what it gonna be ?

@Jbrain

There is a way around, do not hold me to it, But if the office is ONLY administrative or something like that. Its a fine line and not straight forward but can be done

All the online booking sites like booking.com agoda etc they have this set up. No company, just staff. Though all staff are Thai

As usual you are discussing something you don't know about.

I will not reply to you in this topic anymore, but I hope the adminstrator who is part of Agoda will soon step in and explain the structure of the company in Thailand.

But I think Thai at Heart has clarified already that you don't know what you're talking about.

[hellodolly]

Yes, with highly motivated, hard-working and enthusiastic Thai staff, International Corporations, can not wait to make the move.

Above, coupled with excellent English skills would double if not triple efficiency.

Thailand well on the way to becoming the "HUB" of the world.

And if you don't believe it just ask any Thai.

[jbrain]

The ones i am talking about are not travel agents and do not even register as a company in Thailand. As i said, the set up is some what complicated but no registration, no Vat, nothing.

I had to sue Booking.com and lawyers were digging for weeks, but found company was not registered in Thai and operated as an administrative office/agent

Does booking.com has offices in Thailand? If so where ?

Agoda has physical offices in Thailand

[candypants]

Thailand's biggest advantage is that foreign companies are not required to have Thai shareholders and that they can transfer existing non-Thai employees to Thailand without going through the hassle applying for work permits, no 90 days reporting to immigration, exit/reentry visas, et al.

not to mention thailands kinder gentler tax structure for corporations.

[lemoncake]

@JBRAIN

You right again, after all i only own a hotel and deal with them daily, but you have a deeper understanding

[lemoncake]

The ones i am talking about are not travel agents and do not even register as a company in Thailand. As i said, the set up is some what complicated but no registration, no Vat, nothing.

I had to sue Booking.com and lawyers were digging for weeks, but found company was not registered in Thai and operated as an administrative office/agent

Does booking.com has offices in Thailand? If so where ?

Agoda has physical offices in Thailand

Bangkok for both. But only office, not registered Thai company

[jbrain]

@JBRAIN

You right again, after all i only own a hotel and deal with them daily, but you have a deeper understanding

Because you own a glorified guesthouse hotel and get bookings form them on a daily base once in a while , you know everything about their internal accounting and shareholder structure.

Same as, I buy food from Big C every day that makes that I know everything about there accounting and shareholder structure. Not ?

[lemoncake]

@JBRAIN

You right again, after all i only own a hotel and deal with them daily, but you have a deeper understanding

Because you own a glorified guesthouse hotel and get bookings form them on a daily base once in a while , you know everything about their internal accounting and shareholder structure.

Same as, I buy food from Big C every day that makes that I know everything about there accounting and shareholder structure. Not ?

Yes you right again, my business is not up to your standards, you surely know more

[Thailand1977]

Why doesn't someone do a survey of the foriegn employees of those so called International companies operating in

the folllowing cities:

1. Singapore

2. Kuala Lumpur

3. Hong Kong

4. Jakarta

5. Bangkok

and then publish the results of employee satisfaction with living in those cities.

And while they are at it, also add those employees actual opinion of the effeciency, productivity, and general work ethic of the local employees they work with or supervise in those same cities.

I suspect that Thailand will be low on or at the bottom of the preference list of both those surveys.

Especially on the efficency, productibity, and general work ethic listing.

Id say if the people interviewed are single BKK will be at the top, if they've a family and are looking for something other then women, drinking and boasting of their wealth then maybe it will drop a few places.

But id sooner be in BKK then any Emirate/Oil/Gas State that corporations are moving to purely for their no corporation tax policies.

[candypants]

sorry jbrain, i am having trouble remembering, what exactly is it that you do?

[lemoncake]

sorry jbrain, i am having trouble remembering, what exactly is it that you do?

nothing! looks for people to call in case of trouble because he lives in the middle of nowhere

[Thailand1977]

Oh indeed, registering a boi regional head quartets may be cheaper than Singapore, but actually running it in singapore, is about 10 times easier.

The problem for some Asian countries including Thailand is the lack of work ethic, how often they change their jobs, don't go to work and leave without any warning.

In the late '90s I was in Manila when the staff of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank went on strike so the bank got temporary work permits for 40 staff from Hong Kong. The local media loved the story that 40 Hong Kong Chinese were doing the work of over 200 Filipinos until the union realised it's strike was dead in the water and on a nationalistic argument forced the government to withdraw the work permits. The strike was subsequently called off but the local media didn't let go of the fact that 40 were dong the job of so many more.

Wait there i constantly read the media that tells me us Brits have a dreadful work ethic, now i work with Filipinos and id say theyve a very good work ethic, theyre contentious, decent and articulate .... but then again corporations get their friends in the govt and media to call us all lazy for not working 16 hour days for months on end for the minimum wage.

[PaullyW]

Why doesn't someone do a survey of the foriegn employees of those so called International companies operating in

the folllowing cities:

1. Singapore

2. Kuala Lumpur

3. Hong Kong

4. Jakarta

5. Bangkok

and then publish the results of employee satisfaction with living in those cities.

And while they are at it, also add those employees actual opinion of the effeciency, productivity, and general work ethic of the local employees they work with or supervise in those same cities.

I suspect that Thailand will be low on or at the bottom of the preference list of both those surveys.

Especially on the efficency, productibity, and general work ethic listing.

Oh i think foreign employee would be very satisfied with their life, their work life would be more interesting to learn.

For example, things like

How satisfied are you with performance of your secretary?

I know my answer would be " she comes to work sometimes and if i am lucky, i might even get a message of a call but no details of who called, why and when" I can delegate some work to her, as long as it does not interfere with Facebook activities on that day.

Totally agree. I think that many foreigners (particularly men) working in places like Thailand may find the work ethic and productivity here to be rather low, and many may complain of all manner of issues, but the fact remains that a guy can literally spin around with his finger pointed in any direction and simply go 10 - 30 minutes in the same direction and find the type of intimacy and companionship that he wouldn't be able to easily find (or certainly not for so little money) back home.

I think sometimes people underestimate the power of easy Thai companionship on a man's happiness.

For less than a nice steak dinner in our old countries we can have a night which will force us to forget all the ills of the country, even if temporarily.

And, to be fair, it's not the same in Malaysia, or even Indo where the scene is much more tense and underground (given Islam) and in SG the price goes back up to Western levels (aside from the PRC ladies and small group of imports in Geylang) and the local SG lasses are indeed not very available.

So, Thailand has a huge advantage in this regard -- for the happiness maintenance of western expats.

Edited April 27, 2013 by PaullyW

[BrianCR]

jbrain, on 27 Apr 2013 - 11:23, said:

BrianCR, on 27 Apr 2013 - 08:17, said:

Naam, on 27 Apr 2013 - 07:13, said:

Thailand's biggest advantage is that foreign companies are not required to have Thai shareholders and that they can transfer existing non-Thai employees to Thailand without going through the hassle applying for work permits, no 90 days reporting to immigration, exit/reentry visas, et al.

Naam, what you have said is not that far from the truth - a company investing more than 500 million baht (not a large sum for a company) can form a company here with no Thai shareholders, can own land, can apply for BOI approval and get virtually unlimited work permits (at the BOI one-stop-shop in a matter of hours). 90 day reporting to immigration, exit/reentry visas are however still requied. So, if anyone has around 10 million pounds to spare, welcome to Thailand lol

Really? Then tell us why a company like Tesco or Dtac who have invested far in excess of 500 million Baht still has to have 51 % of Thai shareholders.

Since your knowledge of business seems to be lacking, I'd be delighted to tell you. Ek-Chai Distribution System Co., Ltd. was established in 1998 as a joint venture between Tesco (UK) and the Charoen Pokphand Group with the aim of trading as Tesco Lotus (got the background there?) - Why as a joint venture? The Charoen Pokphand Group had extensive local market knowledge especially at operating food outlets (7/11). Local market knowledge was much needed by Tesco as (unlike Weterner's who arrive in Thailand and set up a business to lose their money) Tesco UK wanted to succeed. In short the answer to your question is that the partnership was formed so hat both Companies could use each other knowledge (not unusual in business) - a few years later the Charoen Pokphand Group sold its interest in Ek-Chai Distribution System Co., Ltd.

Dtac is a slightly different kettle of fish as the number of shares that can be owned by a foreign Company in the telecom industry here in Thailand is/was limited to about 40% (I forget the exact %). This rule applies to many countries and is used as most countries consider their Telecom Industry to be tied up with their National Security! - I really don't know if this rule has been changed by now or not! - Answer your question?

PS Sorry I forgot they don't have to have 51% of Thai shareholders

Edited April 27, 2013 by BrianCR

[BrianCR]

Why doesn't someone do a survey of the foriegn employees of those so called International companies operating in

the folllowing cities:

1. Singapore

2. Kuala Lumpur

3. Hong Kong

4. Jakarta

5. Bangkok

and then publish the results of employee satisfaction with living in those cities.

And while they are at it, also add those employees actual opinion of the effeciency, productivity, and general work ethic of the local employees they work with or supervise in those same cities.

I suspect that Thailand will be low on or at the bottom of the preference list of both those surveys.

Especially on the efficency, productibity, and general work ethic listing.

Oh i think foreign employee would be very satisfied with their life, their work life would be more interesting to learn.

For example, things like

How satisfied are you with performance of your secretary?

I know my answer would be " she comes to work sometimes and if i am lucky, i might even get a message of a call but no details of who called, why and when" I can delegate some work to her, as long as it does not interfere with Facebook activities on that day.

Totally agree. I think that many foreigners (particularly men) working in places like Thailand may find the work ethic and productivity here to be rather low, and many may complain of all manner of issues, but the fact remains that a guy can literally spin around with his finger pointed in any direction and simply go 10 - 30 minutes in the same direction and find the type of intimacy and companionship that he wouldn't be able to easily find (or certainly not for so little money) back home.

I think sometimes people underestimate the power of easy Thai companionship on a man's happiness.

For less than a nice steak dinner in our old countries we can have a night which will force us to forget all the ills of the country, even if temporarily.

And, to be fair, it's not the same in Malaysia, or even Indo where the scene is much more tense and underground (given Islam) and in SG the price goes back up to Western levels (aside from the PRC ladies and small group of imports in Geylang) and the local SG lasses are indeed not very available.

So, Thailand has a huge advantage in this regard -- for the happiness maintenance of western expats.

I somewhat agree with you however, cost doesn't mean much to ex-pats (transferred here by their companies) the company pays the same salary (and remember these are senior employees) as the home country - free housing - free car with driver - free schooling for the kids - free 1st class air tickets home once a year for the holidays - and a very large expence account that pays for everything else

[FarangTalk]

Thailand's biggest advantage is that foreign companies are not required to have Thai shareholders and that they can transfer existing non-Thai employees to Thailand without going through the hassle applying for work permits, no 90 days reporting to immigration, exit/reentry visas, et al.

Not being conversant with what all is needed to do business in other countries, I will have to ask you.

Do foreign countries have to jump through all those hoops in all the other countries.

Kinda on the topic. When we were in Phnom Phen 5 years ago with my son he spotted an awful lot of cars there with license plates from states in the US, don't see them here in Thailand. Must be some thing in Cambodia that attracts them. There is an awful lot of oil money floating around there now and labor is cheap.

Thailand's biggest advantage is that foreign companies are not required to have Thai shareholders and that they can transfer existing non-Thai employees to Thailand without going through the hassle applying for work permits, no 90 days reporting to immigration, exit/reentry visas, et al.

Not being conversant with what all is needed to do business in other countries, I will have to ask you.

Do foreign countries have to jump through all those hoops in all the other countries.

Kinda on the topic. When we were in Phnom Phen 5 years ago with my son he spotted an awful lot of cars there with license plates from states in the US, don't see them here in Thailand. Must be some thing in Cambodia that attracts them. There is an awful lot of oil money floating around there now and labor is cheap.

There are masses of cars being stolen in the US then sent to Cambodia for resale. The Merkins busted a huge Cambodian car theft ring operating in the US not so long ago. Needless to say they have links to influential Cambodians.

The amount of new Range Rovers, Porsches and other prestigious marques being driven about is quite unbelievable from even 4-5 years ago.

The Chinese have invested billions there in the last few years, with that trend set to continue. A friend of mine acting on behalf of an investment consortium has just clinched a deal worth several million US and he migrated there from Bangkok only several weeks ago!

In Cambodia you can 100% own your own business and a business visa can be obtained on arrival at the airport or border, then extended for a year easily using an agent without even needing to visit a government office. There's no need to do visa runs or reporting, and you can come and go as you please. Now that's what I call easy.

[jbrain]

sorry jbrain, i am having trouble remembering, what exactly is it that you do?

And your point is ..........

[Frank James]

Cambodia sounds worth checking into.

[Thai at Heart]

The ones i am talking about are not travel agents and do not even register as a company in Thailand. As i said, the set up is some what complicated but no registration, no Vat, nothing.

I had to sue Booking.com and lawyers were digging for weeks, but found company was not registered in Thai and operated as an administrative office/agent

Does booking.com has offices in Thailand? If so where ?

Agoda has physical offices in Thailand

Bangkok for both. But only office, not registered Thai company

So which entity pays the bills?

You can't just have "an office". There has to be a company doing something? Or do the salaries of these employees just arrive from thin air?

What you describe would be completely illegal. in fact a book company would be prevented from doing business IN Thailand.

Edited April 27, 2013 by Thai at Heart

[Thai at Heart]

jbrain, on 27 Apr 2013 - 11:23, said:

BrianCR, on 27 Apr 2013 - 08:17, said:

Naam, on 27 Apr 2013 - 07:13, said:

Thailand's biggest advantage is that foreign companies are not required to have Thai shareholders and that they can transfer existing non-Thai employees to Thailand without going through the hassle applying for work permits, no 90 days reporting to immigration, exit/reentry visas, et al.

Naam, what you have said is not that far from the truth - a company investing more than 500 million baht (not a large sum for a company) can form a company here with no Thai shareholders, can own land, can apply for BOI approval and get virtually unlimited work permits (at the BOI one-stop-shop in a matter of hours). 90 day reporting to immigration, exit/reentry visas are however still requied. So, if anyone has around 10 million pounds to spare, welcome to Thailand lol

Really? Then tell us why a company like Tesco or Dtac who have invested far in excess of 500 million Baht still has to have 51 % of Thai shareholders.

Since your knowledge of business seems to be lacking, I'd be delighted to tell you. Ek-Chai Distribution System Co., Ltd. was established in 1998 as a joint venture between Tesco (UK) and the Charoen Pokphand Group with the aim of trading as Tesco Lotus (got the background there?) - Why as a joint venture? The Charoen Pokphand Group had extensive local market knowledge especially at operating food outlets (7/11). Local market knowledge was much needed by Tesco as (unlike Weterner's who arrive in Thailand and set up a business to lose their money) Tesco UK wanted to succeed. In short the answer to your question is that the partnership was formed so hat both Companies could use each other knowledge (not unusual in business) - a few years later the Charoen Pokphand Group sold its interest in Ek-Chai Distribution System Co., Ltd.

Dtac is a slightly different kettle of fish as the number of shares that can be owned by a foreign Company in the telecom industry here in Thailand is/was limited to about 40% (I forget the exact %). This rule applies to many countries and is used as most countries consider their Telecom Industry to be tied up with their National Security! - I really don't know if this rule has been changed by now or not! - Answer your question?

PS Sorry I forgot they don't have to have 51% of Thai shareholders

Tesco operates a complicated nominee system. Foreigners cannot own retainers.