Is it easy for an Australian to start a business in Thailand?

[adf1976]

Hi it would be greatly appreciated if anybody could help. I am interested in possibly starting up a restaurant in either Chang Mai or Phuket with a friend of mine. Both of us are Australian citizens.Can anyone please advise me of some of the things I need to consider in order to make this a reality?

My main concern is do I need a need a Thai partner - this aspect makes me very hesitant.

Thanks to anyone who can help!

[konying]

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?s=5fba01eac0a6851e855ca15b29c0301a&app=googlecse#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=starting business in thailand

[simple1]

Thailand permits majority Australian ownership of major restaurants or hotels (up to 60%). The previous limit was 49.9%.

http://dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/tafta/pages/key-outcomes-of-the-thailand-australia-free-trade-agreement.aspx

[mngmn]

Thailand permits majority Australian ownership of major restaurants or hotels (up to 60%). The previous limit was 49.9%.

http://dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/tafta/pages/key-outcomes-of-the-thailand-australia-free-trade-agreement.aspx

Anyone familiar with TV will know that Thai officials make up their own rules. Would be amazed if they allowed an Australian to own 60%!

Any Australians reading TV getting the visa concessions described in TAFTA?

[konying]

Thailand permits majority Australian ownership of major restaurants or hotels (up to 60%). The previous limit was 49.9%.

http://dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/tafta/pages/key-outcomes-of-the-thailand-australia-free-trade-agreement.aspx

Anyone familiar with TV will know that Thai officials make up their own rules. Would be amazed if they allowed an Australian to own 60%!

Any Australians reading TV getting the visa concessions described in TAFTA?

All these regulations apply ONLY to big multi national companies, notice the words? MAJOR restaurants or hotels.

[Soutpeel]

Lets spin the following question to the OP whats your reasoning for doing this ?

Do you already run a sucesssful chain of restaurants in Aussie and wish to expand into Thailand ?

Or is this just another variation on the classic cliche of buying a bar ?

Edited August 16, 2015 by Soutpeel

[lostinisaan]

Are you really trying to make a living with your restaurant idea?

[adf1976]

Lets spin the following question to the OP whats your reasoning for doing this ?

Do you already run a sucesssful chain of restaurants in Aussie and wish to expand into Thailand ?

Or is this just another variation on the classic cliche of buying a bar ?

I am thinking of opening up a healthy restaurant/cafe with a nutrition friend of mine. I would like it to be in Phuket close to the where westerners go for bootcamp/physical training. We both have run businesses before. I love thailand - I love the climate/people and way of life. We don't want to be millionaires but want to make enough to cover our costs and live comfortably.

[adf1976]

Are you really trying to make a living with your restaurant idea?

More cafe style - healthy eating with some thai but mostly healthy western style dishes!

[Jimlove]

Good luck with that - I give it 3 months max. .....

[Soutpeel]

Lets spin the following question to the OP whats your reasoning for doing this ?

Do you already run a sucesssful chain of restaurants in Aussie and wish to expand into Thailand ?

Or is this just another variation on the classic cliche of buying a bar ?

I am thinking of opening up a healthy restaurant/cafe with a nutrition friend of mine. I would like it to be in Phuket close to the where westerners go for bootcamp/physical training. We both have run businesses before. I love thailand - I love the climate/people and way of life. We don't want to be millionaires but want to make enough to cover our costs and live comfortably.

And have you done your research to see if there are already similar business already being run ?

" i love the climate/people and way of life" suggests to me you have spent that much time living in Thailand and certainly in Phuket which has some very dark under tones in the business work

[Lex Talionis]

To answer your question: yes it is easy for an Australian to start a business in Thailand. Making it work though? That's about a 1 in 1000 proposition.

Before jumping in though I'd make sure I had a sturdy shark cage.

[adf1976]

Good luck with that - I give it 3 months max. .....

Thanks! Have you been to WE Cafe and Muscle Bar in Chalong???? Have you seen how successful they are?

Obviously you haven't done research on how well healthy cafes do in the right location.

I am here for advice rather than "Good luck with that - I give it 3 months max. ....." which basically is an ignorant comment as I am sure you have never been and checked out the successful Western businesses that cater for Westerners in Phuket mostly Chalong!

Once again thanks for your input.

Edited August 16, 2015 by adf1976

[adf1976]

To answer your question: yes it is easy for an Australian to start a business in Thailand. Making it work though? That's about a 1 in 1000 proposition.

Before jumping in though I'd make sure I had a sturdy shark cage.

Thanks any tips or advice you could give me.

This is just an idea - we have capital but we don't want to jump in without knowing what we would be or could be facing.

If it seems too difficult or not worth it we just won't do it!

[adf1976]

Lets spin the following question to the OP whats your reasoning for doing this ?

Do you already run a sucesssful chain of restaurants in Aussie and wish to expand into Thailand ?

Or is this just another variation on the classic cliche of buying a bar ?

I am thinking of opening up a healthy restaurant/cafe with a nutrition friend of mine. I would like it to be in Phuket close to the where westerners go for bootcamp/physical training. We both have run businesses before. I love thailand - I love the climate/people and way of life. We don't want to be millionaires but want to make enough to cover our costs and live comfortably.

And have you done your research to see if there are already similar business already being run ?

" i love the climate/people and way of life" suggests to me you have spent that much time living in Thailand and certainly in Phuket which has some very dark under tones in the business work

Yes I have done some research and visited the areas I like 4 x in the past 18 months. My main concerns are whether it is worth it and whether there are many obstacles that could be encountered.

Any undertones you could warn me of? - I am open to all input. I don't want to make a decision about doing this without being informed.

[Soutpeel]

To answer your question: yes it is easy for an Australian to start a business in Thailand. Making it work though? That's about a 1 in 1000 proposition.

Before jumping in though I'd make sure I had a sturdy shark cage.

Thanks any tips or advice you could give me.

This is just an idea - we have capital but we don't want to jump in without knowing what we would be or could be facing.

If it seems too difficult or not worth it we just won't do it!

You will need a thb 2.0 million capped limited This company with 51% Thai shareholder majority and seeing as there are two foreigners involved who will need WP you need 8 employees and you may in fact you may need the company capped at 4 million if you want two WP at the beginning

[adf1976]

To answer your question: yes it is easy for an Australian to start a business in Thailand. Making it work though? That's about a 1 in 1000 proposition.

Before jumping in though I'd make sure I had a sturdy shark cage.

Thanks any tips or advice you could give me.

This is just an idea - we have capital but we don't want to jump in without knowing what we would be or could be facing.

If it seems too difficult or not worth it we just won't do it!

You will need a thb 2.0 million capped limited This company with 51% Thai shareholder majority and seeing as there are two foreigners involved who will need WP you need 8 employees and you may in fact you may need the company capped at 4 million if you want two WP at the beginning

Thanks for your help!

[mngmn]

Thailand permits majority Australian ownership of major restaurants or hotels (up to 60%). The previous limit was 49.9%.

http://dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/tafta/pages/key-outcomes-of-the-thailand-australia-free-trade-agreement.aspx

Anyone familiar with TV will know that Thai officials make up their own rules. Would be amazed if they allowed an Australian to own 60%!

Any Australians reading TV getting the visa concessions described in TAFTA?

All these regulations apply ONLY to big multi national companies, notice the words? MAJOR restaurants or hotels.

How convenient that the idiots in the Australian Government who negotiated this neglected to define "major".

Never heard of anyone getting any of the concessions supposedly available to all Australian citizens. A smart Australian Government world revoke TAFTA!

[nowretired]

Thailand permits majority Australian ownership of major restaurants or hotels (up to 60%). The previous limit was 49.9%.

http://dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/tafta/pages/key-outcomes-of-the-thailand-australia-free-trade-agreement.aspx

Anyone familiar with TV will know that Thai officials make up their own rules. Would be amazed if they allowed an Australian to own 60%!

Any Australians reading TV getting the visa concessions described in TAFTA?

All these regulations apply ONLY to big multi national companies, notice the words? MAJOR restaurants or hotels.

How convenient that the idiots in the Australian Government who negotiated this neglected to define "major".

Never heard of anyone getting any of the concessions supposedly available to all Australian citizens. A smart Australian Government world revoke TAFTA!

If you as an Aussie citizen have the capital to invest in a major(BIG) Hotel/Restaurant project I am sure whatever "concessions" are available you would be eligible to apply for.

Such help will not be open to those who wish to run a beer bar!

[shirtless]

Do your due diligence , i think when all your visa and setup costs are accounted for and you take into account that Phuket tourists numbers are no longer a reflection of the boom years the obvious will come to you, be careful.

[merlen10002]

If you want some very good advice from someone that owned restaurants in Australia and has now lived in Thailand for 7 years, forget it, the thing that Thai people do more than anything else is sell food, small street selling to big restaurants , it is very competitive in Australia but 200 times more in Thailand, things that are a good idea in other countrys are not always good in Thailand, Thai people will in the main only eat Thai food, doing it for tourist is a easy way to go broke , inconsistence up and down all the time low seasons high seasons not good, with all that it would be very difficult to do and not worth the trouble, look at restaurant that are for sale and do some research you will soon forget the idea.

[nowretired]

Opening a restaurant in one of the tourist areas means entering into a very competitive market place.

Strolling around where I live it is easy to observe all the open but empty restaurants!

My advice would be to undertake due diligence, have a well thought out business plan which details how the planned venture will succeed in differentiating itself, advantageously from all the others.

[sirineou]

How to make a million dollars in Thailand.

Start with two million

I have two America friends who started restaurants in Thailand, both are back in the US working and trying to make up all the money they lost.

Restaurants are a difficult proposition to start with ,

any place

and have a high ratio of failure

Throw Thailand in to the mix, with constantly changing rules, officials who translate the rules any way they want, tea money to get things done, etc etc

and unless you are familiar with the country, know the ins ans outs, and have considered and have build the variables in to your profit margin,

You will have a higher than others chance of failure. in an environment where as I said the chance of failure is very high to begin with.

[gerry123]

Lets spin the following question to the OP whats your reasoning for doing this ?

Do you already run a sucesssful chain of restaurants in Aussie and wish to expand into Thailand ?

Or is this just another variation on the classic cliche of buying a bar ?

I am thinking of opening up a healthy restaurant/cafe with a nutrition friend of mine. I would like it to be in Phuket close to the where westerners go for bootcamp/physical training. We both have run businesses before. I love thailand - I love the climate/people and way of life. We don't want to be millionaires but want to make enough to cover our costs and live comfortably.

And have you done your research to see if there are already similar business already being run ?

" i love the climate/people and way of life" suggests to me you have spent that much time living in Thailand and certainly in Phuket which has some very dark under tones in the business work

Yes I have done some research and visited the areas I like 4 x in the past 18 months. My main concerns are whether it is worth it and whether there are many obstacles that could be encountered.

Any undertones you could warn me of? - I am open to all input. I don't want to make a decision about doing this without being informed.

Any undertones you could warn me of? i think the post about shark cage should be suffient but companies do make good in Thailand but none in the in the cafe/ restaurantthat i know of

[Daniel Boon]

short answer ... No.

[NickJ]

Do the math.....guestimate your monthly overhead for the restaurant and you and your partner....so three rents......add in salaries utilities........when you have that figure, double it and thats what you need to make....divide it by 30 for days in rhe month.

I have seen so many great places go bottoms up. not because there food was bad.

Also staffing can be the biggest downfall along with the low seasons.

[pemblin]

Contact the Australian Thai chamber of Commerce and Austrade for solid advice

[khunPer]

OP, there are many treads about opening a business on Thai Visa Forum, some very recent and up-to-date, just use the search function.

As an Australian it is as “easy” as for any nationality to start a business in Thailand, except Americans that have special rules in their favor.

And yes, you need Thai partner(s) to own 51% of your business; you and your Aussie partner can maximum own 49% in total. Furthermore you will need 4 Thai employees for each Work Permit, and a registered capital of 2 million baht for 1st WP, and 1 million baht more for each addition WP.

A book that may help you and answer a lot questions is “How to Establish a Successful Business in Thailand” by Philip Wylie, PaiboonPublishing.com, ISBN 1-887521-75-8.

If well prepared and done right (from the beginning), you have a change to be very successful – some however, loose a lot of money starting business in Thailand, so be aware and listen to some of the advices...

Wish you good luck with your project.

[Stevemercer]

A few people I know ran successful start-up businesses (e.g. for about 12 months) before declining business and increased costs forced them out. As mentioned previously, any successful business will be ruthlessly copied and undercut. You must have a good location, good product and competitive pricing to be successful in the long term. You need a location where it is difficult for anyone to copy your business model. The before mentioned businesses eventually ran foul of the 'muslim mafia' (I'm not sure what this is), but supply problems/costs caused a hemorrhage that eventually bled the businesses dry. You need a reputable Thai frontman with some business clout/knowledge to keep out the parasites.

[coulson]

Lets spin the following question to the OP whats your reasoning for doing this ?

Do you already run a sucesssful chain of restaurants in Aussie and wish to expand into Thailand ?

Or is this just another variation on the classic cliche of buying a bar ?

I am thinking of opening up a healthy restaurant/cafe with a nutrition friend of mine. I would like it to be in Phuket close to the where westerners go for bootcamp/physical training. We both have run businesses before. I love thailand - I love the climate/people and way of life. We don't want to be millionaires but want to make enough to cover our costs and live comfortably.

Make sure you bring enough money to cover those aspirations..........but sorry to be pessimistic, if your intention isn't to make much money then why waste so much trying?

Anyway, the way things are going you'd be better off trying to set up a magii noodle stall to cater for the influx of Chinese!

I'm being serious.