Crackdown on Thai nominees

[Jimbo53]

T.I.T.

These Idiots are only going to put their own people out of work..

If Foreigners have the funds,they should be allowed to open a legit business without any Thai nominee shareholder requirement,thus providing employment for the masses,or maybe Australia should implement the same requirement for Thai's intending to open a business there.....Reciprocation!!!!!

Sorry...Got carried away.....forgot...T.I.T...!!!!!!

[hutchings1963]

What about all the Japaneses firms like Toyota,Honda will they close them down?

[spermwhale]

13 out 6,175 firms.! Sounds like a major crime wave of people just trying to make a living.

[waldroj]

"... some foreign-owned businesses were engaged in unscrupulous activities to lure consumers".

I didn't know that ThaiBev was foreign-owned?

[Praematura]

"Chainarong said that those sectors would be targeted because it was believed that a high proportion of their businesses were foreign controlled through the use of Thai nominees. He said the department would stringently investigate those businesses in an effort to prevent Thai enterprises and consumers being impacted negatively as some foreign-owned businesses were engaged in unscrupulous activities to lure consumers."

I hate it when farangs are up to unscrupulous activities to lure customers because I've only had positive experiences dealing with Thai businesses.

[empireboy]

Only 13 firms out of 6000? They obviously did not look hard, thus is this really a crackdown?

Yes! 0.21 of a single percent! What a haul!!

[Tanlic]

What you have to understand about Thai Laws is that they are kinda silly but there's a good reason for that.

Thais hate to lose face so they make up stupid laws they know everyone is going to break

Then they don't feel as guilty about being corrupt themselves.

[eddie61]

Only 13 firms out of 6000? They obviously did not look hard, thus is this really a crackdown?

No it's a crackup!

55555555

( Oh what wit, and all that before the first Chang of the day!)

Must get back to work, or my nominee will be pissed off....I think its that time of the month

Edited October 12, 2015 by eddie61

[deckape]

Crackdown Thai style...(no crackdown, only press release).

[FredNL]

The 10 sectors to be inspected are food and beverage, tourism, property rental, the property trade, car rental, spa, handicraft and souvenir retail, Internet retailing, direct sales, and education consultants.

Internet retailing = internet shop

More than 50% of our Thai customers are foreigners with an internet shop.

Our Thai market is only 4%. I wonder how many are left over one year from now.

Our Thai market is still growing with mostly foreign owned, Thai based internet shops and currently expanding rapidly with internet shops starting at 250 THB/year. It won't be a problem to move our Thai server to somewhere out of Thailand. They only will shoot themselves in their Thai feet as we fire all our Thai staff.

[Balance]

Let's see. There are 6,175 firms and they found 13 that may have violated the Thai ownership requirements. That is .21 of one percent. That is a very big problem and demands the immediate attention of every Minister and the Prime Minister with at least 4 special committees.

[sunluvr]

Wow, a 0.0021% non compliance rate is very good.

I doubt there's another country anywhere in the world that can claim a 99.9979% complaince with all the rules and regulations.

13 out of 6,175 is not 0.0021% nor is it other similar figures quoted by others, it's 0.21%.. not a big difference in the scheme of things, just doing my math policing.. sharpen your calculators please..

[Maggusoil]

Many Thais have bank accounts overseas, own houses, businesses etc but extend the same considerations to foreigners here, absolutely not can't have any of Thailand in the hands of mere foreigners.

Please give us your money but don't expect too much, if anything, in return.

Are you from a country that can't keep it for themselves because they don't really own it. Your own country?

Just asking.

I am. Massive foreign ownership. Ownerships registered in other countries with better tax regimes. It is sold right off. If a country can keep its sovereignty then us looking on saying its not fair, we've already sold our country from under us or somoene else has. That's too bad.

If you're complaining about Thais owning property in your country, then look to your own laws and ask why.

[tuanku]

Thai enterprises and consumers being impacted negatively as some foreign-owned businesses were engaged in unscrupulous activities to lure consumers.

Thailand - hub of scrupulous companies;

Silver reefer

Natural Fruit

Chang

UFun

Tungkum Limited (TKL) gold-mining in Loei

etc.

etc.

[Thaidream]

If you invest in Thailand, be prepared to lose it all. There is very few real protections and if the powers to be actually enforce the law the way it is written--most small foreign owned business will be out of business. Keep your money in your bank-offshore.

[NickJ]

There not looking at homes owned under Thai companies with farangs living in them. The big International companies like Toyota or Ford have deals worked out with the govt. What they want to clamp down on are farangs that own resorts and restaurants or rental properties. Businesses that appear to be legal but are not. Even if they did come after these most have real Thai wives and if push ever came to shove these companies would be given time to restructure long before assets were seized. I think they want to send the message that you better think twice if you are contemplating violating the act in the first place.

[oneday]

Thailand continues to shoot itself in the foot.

They obviously have no idea how much money these foreigners invest in this country.

[realenglish1]

"some foreign-owned businesses were engaged in unscrupulous activities to lure consumers." Sounds more like Thai companies with Thais that have the morals of a shark

Face building tactic and not something that will improve the standard of Thais

[manhood]

What made me really laughing: they are scared of "technology transfer"

Thailand never developed any technology, they depending 100 % on foreign technology and whithout the foreigners they would be still only digging in the rice fields with their buffalos!

Thais are paranoid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hgma]

It will be a hard nut to crack.

[vasudev]

i am running small tailor shop in prachuabkirikhan and DSI was in my shop to investigate nominees shareholders,and files a case against me,

does anyone knows what the penalty will be for having fake nominee shareholders for 2 million company.??

[BlindMagician]

What made me really laughing: they are scared of "technology transfer"

Thailand never developed any technology, they depending 100 % on foreign technology and whithout the foreigners they would be still only digging in the rice fields with their buffalos!

Thais are paranoid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Historically, in broad terms, what you say is true.

But not completely true these days, especially since the returning yearly wave after wave of overseas trained PhDs have started to change the scene. There has been some growing success from this form of transfer - not technology transfer, although that has happened too, but education of Thailand's best overseas, and then they return home.

The problem is the environment they return to - out date (mis)management of Universities, lack of R&D budgets, lack of human resource to supervise in the usual framework of Professor and research students. also a lack of local clients, meaning the industry or businesses, who have tended to just want a solution without R&D investment, and lack knowledge of how to manage R&D risk.

But all this has been gradually changing, but mostly due to the determination of these overseas trained Professors, industry and business - with some Government initiatives, but only when the senior level decision makers and policy setters are not politicians, such as nation level research institute directors who have themselves had overseas exposure.

But yes, Thailand has and does depend on foreign expertese at so many levels, they just sometimes have a problem really accepting that.

We don't need the Thai nominee route to be successful with technology transfer - overseas business can benefit from local markets by strategic partnerships, locked in with IP licensing agreements. One route is to establish small businesses with a University Professor who has been trained overseas, provide them with marketing support, and you have a grateful new business owner who is then pulled out of the dire situation of no R&D funding.

[Yann55]

so does that mean If I buy a house via a company structure to comply with thai ownership laws I will be investigated for unscrupulous exploitation of Thailand and its honest law abiding government agencies?

what a funny country to decide to call home for the foreseeable future, oh well glad the food and the people are nice

Excuse me, Sir, but if you 'buy a house via a company structure', you do not comply with Thai ownership laws, you go around them, and that's a hell of a big difference.

You may not be happy with these laws insomuch as they do not fit in with your own agenda, but like it or not, they make sense - at least within the world as it is, ie divided into countries who are (at least on paper) sovereign over their own territory.

If Thailand had allowed foreigners full ownership of houses and/or land a long time ago, places like Phuket and many others woud now be almost entirely and officially in the hands of foreigners. When that happens, the political situation is jeopardized because we are in a capitalist system where ownership is the basis for economics and therefore politics.

You can't support the notion of countries, nation, ownership etc and disavow the choice that was made by Thai authorities.

Please note, however, that unlike many other countries around here, Thailand actually did its best to accomodate the need for resident foreigners to own their dwellings, by allowing them to own 49% of the total surface in every condominium. Not perfect, not fantastic, but better than nothing. If you don't want to live in a condo, you can still buy one, rent it out, and use the money to rent a house.

The lease system here is flexible enough to allow foreigners to rent a house for a long time and within a pretty secure legal framework. To do things the right way, what you need is patience, caution, advice, counter advice ... however I don't see much of that around here because, let's face it, foreigners tend to have this I-know-better approach which often causes them to launch head first into deals that are not kosher.

You can call this country home, but you can't call it England, or Germany, or France or Australia or America. Do you have a problem with that ?

Edited October 12, 2015 by Yann55

[Bernard Flint]

so does that mean If I buy a house via a company structure to comply with thai ownership laws I will be investigated for unscrupulous exploitation of Thailand and its honest law abiding government agencies?

what a funny country to decide to call home for the foreseeable future, oh well glad the food and the people are nice

Excuse me, Sir, but if you 'buy a house via a company structure', you do not comply with Thai ownership laws, you go around them, and that's a hell of a big difference.

You may not be happy with these laws insomuch as they do not fit in with your own agenda, but like it or not, they make sense - at least within the world as it is, ie divided into countries who are (at least on paper) sovereign over their own territory.

If Thailand had allowed foreigners full ownership of houses and/or land a long time ago, places like Phuket and many others woud now be almost entirely and officially in the hands of foreigners. When that happens, the political situation is jeopardized because we are in a capitalist system where ownership is the basis for economics and therefore politics.

You can't support the notion of countries, nation, ownership etc and disavow the choice that was made by Thai authorities.

Please note, however, that unlike many other countries around here, Thailand actually did its best to accomodate the need for resident foreigners to own their dwellings, by allowing them to own 49% of the total surface in every condominium. Not perfect, not fantastic, but better than nothing. If you don't want to live in a condo, you can still buy one, rent it out, and use the money to rent a house.

The lease system here is flexible enough to allow foreigners to rent a house for a long time and within a pretty secure legal framework. To do things the right way, what you need is patience, caution, advice, counter advice ... however I don't see much of that around here because, let's face it, foreigners tend to have this I-know-better approach which often causes them to launch head first into deals that are not kosher.

You can call this country home, but you can't call it England, or Germany, or France or Australia or America. Do you have a problem with that ?

SIR

Let me congratualte you on a precise, articulate reply, 100% correct in everything you say. I think estate agents have a lot to answer for byt stretching existant laws, to suit their need to earn money at any cost.

[billd766]

Ah yes. Jump on tesco, dtac, cemex to keep your backers happy

I thought Dtac is owned by Norwegians but what about AIS and the deal with Singapore? Is AIS still owned by them?

AFAIR both have a foreign stake of 49%.

It used to be 25% but Thaksin changed the law to make it 49%. A few days later he sold that AIS shares to Temasek for a vast profit because there was NO capital gains tax. Funny how the rich operate isn't it?

[HenryB]

I am Proud to retire to Thailand

I think us retired Farangs should help the Govt by helping with crackdown by giving information

The Govt should open a hotline for tips

[KKr]

WOW! That's a whopping 0.002% of the business.

One wonders is that is because ALL businesses were surveyed or only businesses that have some foreign involvement. If the latter, they one would think this is just bringing bad press and will reduce foreign investment. If Thailand wants serious foreign investment, on a massive scale, the rules need to be changed. Noone wants to invest millions of dollars, just to put control in the hands of Thais.

or any other nationality for that matter.

[Yann55]

so does that mean If I buy a house via a company structure to comply with thai ownership laws I will be investigated for unscrupulous exploitation of Thailand and its honest law abiding government agencies?

what a funny country to decide to call home for the foreseeable future, oh well glad the food and the people are nice

Excuse me, Sir, but if you 'buy a house via a company structure', you do not comply with Thai ownership laws, you go around them, and that's a hell of a big difference.

You may not be happy with these laws insomuch as they do not fit in with your own agenda, but like it or not, they make sense - at least within the world as it is, ie divided into countries who are (at least on paper) sovereign over their own territory.

If Thailand had allowed foreigners full ownership of houses and/or land a long time ago, places like Phuket and many others woud now be almost entirely and officially in the hands of foreigners. When that happens, the political situation is jeopardized because we are in a capitalist system where ownership is the basis for economics and therefore politics.

You can't support the notion of countries, nation, ownership etc and disavow the choice that was made by Thai authorities.

Please note, however, that unlike many other countries around here, Thailand actually did its best to accomodate the need for resident foreigners to own their dwellings, by allowing them to own 49% of the total surface in every condominium. Not perfect, not fantastic, but better than nothing. If you don't want to live in a condo, you can still buy one, rent it out, and use the money to rent a house.

The lease system here is flexible enough to allow foreigners to rent a house for a long time and within a pretty secure legal framework. To do things the right way, what you need is patience, caution, advice, counter advice ... however I don't see much of that around here because, let's face it, foreigners tend to have this I-know-better approach which often causes them to launch head first into deals that are not kosher.

You can call this country home, but you can't call it England, or Germany, or France or Australia or America. Do you have a problem with that ?

SIR

Let me congratualte you on a precise, articulate reply, 100% correct in everything you say. I think estate agents have a lot to answer for byt stretching existant laws, to suit their need to earn money at any cost.

LOL, let me thank you profusely for the congratulations, SIR

About the responsibility of real estate agents here, I couldn't agree more. How many times have I have heard them around here, talking to potential buyers and starting with this mantra : "there are several ways for a foreigner to buy property in Thailand ..."

No, in fact, there are not. I know it, you know it, they know it, yet again and again they repeat this deliberate lie to their potential customers.

Edited October 12, 2015 by Yann55

[Fat Haggis]

The semi-annual crackdown....must have popped up on some govt official's calendar...allows them to get a little media attention.

Semi-annual crackdown schedule for 2016 is Apr and Oct...each crackdown will only last one week because of short media (and govt) attention span.

Yes the annual alert popped up on their dodgy copy of Windows 10 !!

[Bernard Flint]

so does that mean If I buy a house via a company structure to comply with thai ownership laws I will be investigated for unscrupulous exploitation of Thailand and its honest law abiding government agencies?

what a funny country to decide to call home for the foreseeable future, oh well glad the food and the people are nice

Excuse me, Sir, but if you 'buy a house via a company structure', you do not comply with Thai ownership laws, you go around them, and that's a hell of a big difference.

You may not be happy with these laws insomuch as they do not fit in with your own agenda, but like it or not, they make sense - at least within the world as it is, ie divided into countries who are (at least on paper) sovereign over their own territory.

If Thailand had allowed foreigners full ownership of houses and/or land a long time ago, places like Phuket and many others woud now be almost entirely and officially in the hands of foreigners. When that happens, the political situation is jeopardized because we are in a capitalist system where ownership is the basis for economics and therefore politics.

You can't support the notion of countries, nation, ownership etc and disavow the choice that was made by Thai authorities.

Please note, however, that unlike many other countries around here, Thailand actually did its best to accomodate the need for resident foreigners to own their dwellings, by allowing them to own 49% of the total surface in every condominium. Not perfect, not fantastic, but better than nothing. If you don't want to live in a condo, you can still buy one, rent it out, and use the money to rent a house.

The lease system here is flexible enough to allow foreigners to rent a house for a long time and within a pretty secure legal framework. To do things the right way, what you need is patience, caution, advice, counter advice ... however I don't see much of that around here because, let's face it, foreigners tend to have this I-know-better approach which often causes them to launch head first into deals that are not kosher.

You can call this country home, but you can't call it England, or Germany, or France or Australia or America. Do you have a problem with that ?

SIR

Let me congratualte you on a precise, articulate reply, 100% correct in everything you say. I think estate agents have a lot to answer for byt stretching existant laws, to suit their need to earn money at any cost.

LOL, let me thank you profusely for the congratulations, SIR

About the responsibility of real estate agents here, I couldn't agree more. How many times have I have heard them around here, talking to potential buyers and staartin with this mantra : "there are several ways for a foreigner to buy property in Thailand ..."

No, in fact, there are not. I know it, you know it, they know it, yet again and again they repeat this deliberate lie to their potential customers.

14 years has taught me plenty about legalities, the same as you, and some real estate agents are crooks, nothing more, nothing less, and knowing some thai helps with the truth too.