Business advice

[Longstaff]

Hi Simon

Some pretty discouraging and cynical responses so far!

Here's the best advice I can think of: Use this forum to get a recommendation for a decent lawyer, accountant, or business adviser in your region, who can provide sound and current advice and the help you need.

I set up a small restaurant with my wife in Chiang Mai. My lawyer did all the necessary paperwork for the business registration, social security payments for staff, and my work permit. It was hassle free and cost little.

Our business was a registered 'family business' in my wife's name. NOT a limited company or limited partnership (for which registered capital is required). My work permit was based on having the required number of staff on social security. My visa was 1 year based on marriage.

In my opinion your biggest risk is not getting caught inadvertently behind the bar pouring a beer for someone...its separating from your wife and walking away with nothing....it happens...

There are thousands of successful businesses like this throughout Thailand....just walk down any soi in one of the big touristy or expat towns. Use a lawyer, play it straight by following the rules, and it can work out well for you as it has for many others.

Good luck :)

[khunPer]

1 hour ago, phuket88 said:

 

 

http://www.thailandredcat.com/the-minimum-wages-for-foreigners-working-in-thailand/


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

 

 

That's a general misunderstanding, that foreigners shall be paid a minimum salary, apart from the general minimum of around 300 baht a day, to obtain a Work Permit; but to get an extension of permission to stay in the Kingdom based on a Work Permit, Immigration wish to see that you're having a certain salary and pay tax.

 

I think I'm correct (otherwise please correct me) when saying, that a foreigner married to a Thai, can obtain a Work Permit, but will stay in the Kingdom based upon extension due to marriage; i.e. Immigration will not ask for documentation of minimum salary, only documentation needed for extension based upon marriage like 400,000 baht bank deposit or 40,000 baht monthly income, or a combination of the two.

 

It seem to be widely different from area-to-area, province-to-province, how strict the Work Permit rules are interpreted. In some areas aliens (farangs) both cook, serve, shop, and carry goods, and much more, in/for their bar/restaurant – but the risk of some envy and reporting to the authorities always appears, as mentioned in another post – other places they only act as manager. So looking at what other does in the area in questions can be a good guideline, but no guarantee.

I agree with OP about many place's serving standard – I some time visit places that acts like being an up-end establishment, but the serving sucks and is almost to cry or laugh about (sorry) – and I also visit places where it seem like some foreign manager has everything under perfect control. And I wish to say to OP, just as we hear horror stories – I've even experienced a number within my social circle – there are also numerous success stories about foreigners that opens or partner business in Thailand; I've also experienced that.

Wish you good luck with your future Thai-business...

[12DrinkMore]

1 hour ago, lungnorm said:

My son had  seafood restaurant in the heart of Sydney City Australia. Could not make money landlord kept upping the rent.

 

I would have thought that Australia gave some protection against constantly putting up the rent, but I suppose it is what the contract allows.

 

This behaviour is a common small-business killer in resort areas. I have seen a number of young enthusiastic couples take over a shop, redecorate and start making a successful business. Next season closed due to the rent doubling or more.

 

I find it a bit sad.

[TSF]

23 minutes ago, 12DrinkMore said:

 

I would have thought that Australia gave some protection against constantly putting up the rent, but I suppose it is what the contract allows.

 

This behaviour is a common small-business killer in resort areas. I have seen a number of young enthusiastic couples take over a shop, redecorate and start making a successful business. Next season closed due to the rent doubling or more.

 

I find it a bit sad.

Depends on the lease in Oz. Friend of mine in Perth rented an apartment long-term lease but landlord increased the rent every 3 months. Apparently he had that option written in the lease. I'm a landlord and rent out an apartment in Perth, usually on 12-month leases and never increase rent during the period of lease. Whenever a new lease is signed then my property manager negotiates the rental with the tenant and that's it for the duration of the lease. 

[wmlc]

On January 1, 2017 at 0:06 PM, ubonjoe said:

If married to a Thai the company or partnership only needs to have registered capital of 1 million baht and at some work permit offices only 2 Thai employees.

Registered capital is just number used when registering the company it does not have to be in cash.

 Ubon Joe,

 

What do you mean about the capital not needing to be in cash? Does this mean you can use property? This needs to be clearer because I think you are wrong in what you say.  Here is the law for all to see. Fully paid up registered capital to me means cash cash paid into the business. Also 1 million is not just ok by some Labour dept offices. It clearly states the reason why in this law. It's about the amount of corporate income tax paid for the last 3 years.

 

• "The company must have a fully paid-up registered capital of 2 million Baht to hire one foreigner, plus one person for every additional 2 million Baht (to a maximum of 10 people). 
• If the registered capital of the company is less than 2 million the company can hire one foreigner if its total corporate income tax payment had been at least 5 million Baht for the past three years."

 

So please clarify for us all. Thank you.

 

Edited January 3, 2017 by wmlc

[Deepinthailand]

On 01/01/2017 at 4:48 PM, FritsSikkink said:

Officially you can't even do the shopping or carry the shopping into the bar / restaurant. you can tell the staff to unload the car and bring you your coffee. I know someone who got deported because he was filmed by an competitor carrying the shopping from the car into the shop without having a work permit

When are where did this happen? Would be interesting to read about it something as high profile as that must have been in the spotlight. 

[Rc2702]

32 minutes ago, wmlc said:

 Ubon Joe,

 

What do you mean about the capital not needing to be in cash? Does this mean you can use property? This needs to be clearer because I think you are wrong in what you say.  Here is the law for all to see. Fully paid up registered capital to me means cash cash paid into the business. Also 1 million is not just ok by some Labour dept offices. It clearly states the reason why in this law. It's about the amount of corporate income tax paid for the last 3 years.

 

• "The company must have a fully paid-up registered capital of 2 million Baht to hire one foreigner, plus one person for every additional 2 million Baht (to a maximum of 10 people). 
• If the registered capital of the company is less than 2 million the company can hire one foreigner if its total corporate income tax payment had been at least 5 million Baht for the past three years."

 

So please clarify for us all. Thank you.

 

Yes please clear this up as I suspect a lot on here are too afraid to ask but I'm not and neither is this guy it seems. Sounds like you saying we just need to declare the company has capital of 1m not actually prove it? 

Edited January 3, 2017 by Rc2702

[seancbk]

28 minutes ago, wmlc said:

 Ubon Joe,

 

What do you mean about the capital not needing to be in cash? Does this mean you can use property? This needs to be clearer because I think you are wrong in what you say.  Here is the law for all to see. Fully paid up registered capital to me means cash cash paid into the business. Also 1 million is not just ok by some Labour dept offices. It clearly states the reason why in this law. It's about the amount of corporate income tax paid for the last 3 years.

 

• "The company must have a fully paid-up registered capital of 2 million Baht to hire one foreigner, plus one person for every additional 2 million Baht (to a maximum of 10 people). 
• If the registered capital of the company is less than 2 million the company can hire one foreigner if its total corporate income tax payment had been at least 5 million Baht for the past three years."

 

So please clarify for us all. Thank you.

 

The important part is the "registered capital'  when you form the company you have to 'register' the capital that is held by the company, this capital is supposed to be to cover debts that the company might incur so that *if* it goes bust the creditors will have at least some chance of getting their money.   

For a Private Limited Company there is a fee of 500 THB which is paid per 100,000 THB of registered capital (a fraction of 100,000 is considered as 100,000).   So the fee to 'Register' two million THB of capital is 20 x 500 = 10,000 THB.

You pay that 10,000 THB and your company has 2 million THB of registered capital.    

Hope that helps.

Much more info available here - http://www.boi.go.th/index.php?page=setting_up_a_business

[seancbk]

10 minutes ago, Deepinthailand said:

On 1/1/2017 at 4:48 PM, FritsSikkink said:

Officially you can't even do the shopping or carry the shopping into the bar / restaurant. you can tell the staff to unload the car and bring you your coffee. I know someone who got deported because he was filmed by an competitor carrying the shopping from the car into the shop without having a work permit

 

When are where did this happen? Would be interesting to read about it something as high profile as that must have been in the spotlight. 

Sounds like an urban myth to me.   How could  they prove he wasn't carrying his own personal shopping into the shop?

 

[Rc2702]

5 minutes ago, seancbk said:

The important part is the "registered capital'  when you form the company you have to 'register' the capital that is held by the company, this capital is supposed to be to cover debts that the company might incur so that *if* it goes bust the creditors will have at least some chance of getting their money.   

For a Private Limited Company there is a fee of 500 THB which is paid per 100,000 THB of registered capital (a fraction of 100,000 is considered as 100,000).   So the fee to 'Register' two million THB of capital is 20 x 500 = 10,000 THB.

You pay that 10,000 THB and your company has 2 million THB of registered capital.    

Hope that helps.

Much more info available here - http://www.boi.go.th/index.php?page=setting_up_a_business

So essentially should something go wrong go bust you could be held accountable and liable for 1/2m pending on what you registered and it simply costs 500 baht per 100k to register. 

 

Excellent breakdown if correct Sean. Some very clear data. I want to believe this too but I'll check back to see if we have any objections.

Edited January 3, 2017 by Rc2702

[seancbk]

Just now, Rc2702 said:

So essentially should something go wrong go bust you could be held accountable and liable for 1/2m pending on what you registered and it simply costs 500 baht per 100 to register. 

 

Excellent breakdown if correct Sean. Some very clear data. I want to believe this too but I'll check back to see if we have any objections.

 

I highly recommend looking through the link I provided as it has a wealth of detail about the process of setting up companies here.

Another thing you can do is register the capital then issue a 'loan' to the directors for the 1 or 2 million, so that the funds although not in the company accounts are accounted for.   The directors can then repay the loan which would gradually put the actual capital into the company accounts.    However, you would need to get updated advice from your accountant as to whether this is still being allowed.

I spoke with my accountant recently about starting a new company and she advised that the Army are tightening up some of the loopholes.   For example, it used to be possible to just pay social security for 4 Thais and register them as your employees, allowing you to get a work permit before you had to actually start paying salaries for 4 employees.   Apparently that is no longer easy to do.   

So my advice is read the link in my last post and get proper legal and accounting advice before you proceed. 

There are many successful foreign businesses here in Thailand, don't believe what all the naysayers spout on these threads ;-)

 

[ubonjoe]

49 minutes ago, wmlc said:

What do you mean about the capital not needing to be in cash? Does this mean you can use property? This needs to be clearer because I think you are wrong in what you say.  Here is the law for all to see. Fully paid up registered capital to me means cash cash paid into the business. Also 1 million is not just ok by some Labour dept offices. It clearly states the reason why in this law. It's about the amount of corporate income tax paid for the last 3 years.

There is a special clause in the ministerial regulations for those married to a Thai that the registered is one million baht.

You did not post a source for what you quoted. It is evident that is for a large company. There a lot of clauses that can be applied for different companies.

A startup company certainly would not have 3 years of tax payments to show.

[Autonuaq]

Cafe and or restaurant is what a Thai can do. Unless you have a specific case that allows you to have a job at your own cafe restaurant you have nearly no change.

It is work that Thai can do and you compeat with there workplaces.

So forget it.

The changes you can leagally work in your own cafe or restairant are so slim.

 

[wmlc]

39 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

There is a special clause in the ministerial regulations for those married to a Thai that the registered is one million baht.

You did not post a source for what you quoted. It is evident that is for a large company. There a lot of clauses that can be applied for different companies.

A startup company certainly would not have 3 years of tax payments to show.

 

The source is the ministry of Labour and code of foreign workers act as well as BOI- Board of foreign investment. I'm still waiting for the answer about whether or not the capital can be put up in other options other than cash. But I suspect you don't know. Thanks but I'm going with the law on this one. Again it is ridiculous to think you can pay the 10,000 Baht fee to register 2 million baht of capital without having the money. Ludicrous and justly unfounded advice.

Edited January 3, 2017 by wmlc

[lungnorm]

2 hours ago, 12DrinkMore said:

 

I would have thought that Australia gave some protection against constantly putting up the rent, but I suppose it is what the contract allows.

 

This behaviour is a common small-business killer in resort areas. I have seen a number of young enthusiastic couples take over a shop, redecorate and start making a successful business. Next season closed due to the rent doubling or more.

 

I find it a bit sad.

Sad is not the word for it. My son and his wife, her sister and her husband put all they had into it they tried for 2 + years the shock came when they tried to sell the lease. As soon as they sent a prospective buyer to the Landlord that was the end of the buyers interest. They at my advice arranged for the owner to suffer some bad luck and that's the way they was able to get out of the lease. 

[wmlc]

58 minutes ago, seancbk said:

The important part is the "registered capital'  when you form the company you have to 'register' the capital that is held by the company, this capital is supposed to be to cover debts that the company might incur so that *if* it goes bust the creditors will have at least some chance of getting their money.   

For a Private Limited Company there is a fee of 500 THB which is paid per 100,000 THB of registered capital (a fraction of 100,000 is considered as 100,000).   So the fee to 'Register' two million THB of capital is 20 x 500 = 10,000 THB.

You pay that 10,000 THB and your company has 2 million THB of registered capital.    

Hope that helps.

Much more info available here - http://www.boi.go.th/index.php?page=setting_up_a_business

Sure that is directly from the BOI website which is great. But you actually must have the 2 million baht in cash. You can't just pay the 10,000 Baht baht to register capital you don't have. Ridiculous to think otherwise.

[ubonjoe]

15 minutes ago, wmlc said:

Again it is ridiculous to think you can pay the 10,000 Baht fee to register 2 million baht of capital without having the money. Ludicrous and justly unfounded advice.

I can assure you many people have gotten a work permit without showing a satang of capital.

This topic is not about a large existing company and getting a work permit.

[wmlc]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

There is a special clause in the ministerial regulations for those married to a Thai that the registered is one million baht.

You did not post a source for what you quoted. It is evident that is for a large company. There a lot of clauses that can be applied for different companies.

A startup company certainly would not have 3 years of tax payments to show.

 

2 hours ago, wmlc said:

 Ubon Joe,

 

What do you mean about the capital not needing to be in cash? Does this mean you can use property? This needs to be clearer because I think you are wrong in what you say.  Here is the law for all to see. Fully paid up registered capital to me means cash cash paid into the business. Also 1 million is not just ok by some Labour dept offices. It clearly states the reason why in this law. It's about the amount of corporate income tax paid for the last 3 years.

 

• "The company must have a fully paid-up registered capital of 2 million Baht to hire one foreigner, plus one person for every additional 2 million Baht (to a maximum of 10 people). 
• If the registered capital of the company is less than 2 million the company can hire one foreigner if its total corporate income tax payment had been at least 5 million Baht for the past three years."

 

So please clarify for us all. Thank you.

 

Here's the exceptions:

 

The Labour Department may also issue or renew work permits regardless of the above criteria when the foreign individual falls into one of the following categories:

-employed as an international trade representative inspecting product quality, purchases or conducting market surveys
-employed as an investment or management technology adviser or internal auditor
-a tour representative bringing foreign tourists into Thailand
-employed in an international financial institute endorsed by the Bank of Thailand
-employed a non-profit organization on a temporary basis
-employed as a contractor on projects for state agencies or public enterprises
-employed in a business that mainly required the use of local raw materials
-employed in the Thai export sector
-employed in a business introducing and transferring technologies to Thailand
-employed in a sector where qualified Thai employees cannot be found
-married the cohabiting with a Thai national and has an honest employment.

 

There is actually no indication of any capital being required ( 1 million) if the ministry of Labour issues a work permit under any of these exceptions. It is up to the descretion of the officer and most officers lower it to 1 million.

Edited January 3, 2017 by wmlc

[wmlc]

3 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I can assure you many people have gotten a work permit without showing a satang of capital.

This topic is not about a large existing company and getting a work permit.

So what you are saying is you can open up a company, register 2 million baht of capital by paying the 10,000 Baht fee without having any of that 2 million in capital and then get a work permit? Is that correct? Yes? Or no?

Edited January 3, 2017 by wmlc

[12DrinkMore]

19 minutes ago, wmlc said:

Sure that is directly from the BOI website which is great. But you actually must have the 2 million baht in cash. You can't just pay the 10,000 Baht baht to register capital you don't have. Ridiculous to think otherwise.

 

Used to be the case that the money did not have to exist. On the balance sheet there was a corresponding loan to the owner, on which some nominal rate of interest was charged.

 

Things have tightened up, and now they want to see that the Thai owners, often previously nominees,  have actually paid money into the company. Although there are probably ways to avoid that.

[seancbk]

11 minutes ago, wmlc said:

1 hour ago, seancbk said:

The important part is the "registered capital'  when you form the company you have to 'register' the capital that is held by the company, this capital is supposed to be to cover debts that the company might incur so that *if* it goes bust the creditors will have at least some chance of getting their money.   

For a Private Limited Company there is a fee of 500 THB which is paid per 100,000 THB of registered capital (a fraction of 100,000 is considered as 100,000).   So the fee to 'Register' two million THB of capital is 20 x 500 = 10,000 THB.

You pay that 10,000 THB and your company has 2 million THB of registered capital.    

Hope that helps.

Much more info available here - http://www.boi.go.th/index.php?page=setting_up_a_business

 

 

 

Sure that is directly from the BOI website which is great. But you actually must have the 2 million baht in cash. You can't just pay the 10,000 Baht baht to register capital you don't have. Ridiculous to think otherwise.

You missed my followup post where I explained that the Paid-up Capital can be accounted for in the company accounts by issuing it as a loan to the directors.   This effectively puts them on the hook for the 1 or 2 million should the company go bust.

The idea is that you can start a business without the 1 or 2 million sitting in the bank and once you have a legally registered entity, and have the requisite staff for the business to qualify for a foreign WP, then you can apply for a WP.  

 

I did also say that anyone thinking of setting up a business should consult with experts in the current rules and regulations (and loopholes).    

Frankly speaking, as a foreigner I can't see the point of setting up a small coffee shop or similar little business for the purposes of getting a work permit.  Fair enough helping your wife/GF (if you have one) with a small business of their own for some extra money in their name, but no need for a limited company with you involved in that case.      The only time I would recommend a foreigner get involved in having a limited company is if they plan to build a business with loads of outlets like Cafe Amazon with hundreds of staff..... something that has projected revenues of multiple millions.  

Not one little shop that might make an extra 50,000 baht a month.

I also wouldn't advise going into a business you know nothing about. So unless you've previously owned and operated restaurants or cafes (for example) then steer clear.   They are hard enough in your home country, and way harder here in Thailand.    The same goes for any business (anywhere really).

 

[wmlc]

14 minutes ago, 12DrinkMore said:

 

Used to be the case that the money did not have to exist. On the balance sheet there was a corresponding loan to the owner, on which some nominal rate of interest was charged.

 

Things have tightened up, and now they want to see that the Thai owners, often previously nominees,  have actually paid money into the company. Although there are probably ways to avoid that.

Thank you very much. I was waiting for Ubon Joe to come up with this answer and he could not because he has no idea about this subject. If the company has no capital provided by the share holders or owner, the director will be in a heap of trouble. What Ubon Joe also does not know, is that inspections by the ministry of Labour and immigration are done for this purpose alone. You must have the capital! It is illegal to register capital you don't have and very bad advice to suggest to anyone it can be done. 

Edited January 3, 2017 by wmlc

[wmlc]

17 minutes ago, seancbk said:

You missed my followup post where I explained that the Paid-up Capital can be accounted for in the company accounts by issuing it as a loan to the directors.   This effectively puts them on the hook for the 1 or 2 million should the company go bust.

The idea is that you can start a business without the 1 or 2 million sitting in the bank and once you have a legally registered entity, and have the requisite staff for the business to qualify for a foreign WP, then you can apply for a WP.  

 

I did also say that anyone thinking of setting up a business should consult with experts in the current rules and regulations (and loopholes).    

Frankly speaking, as a foreigner I can't see the point of setting up a small coffee shop or similar little business for the purposes of getting a work permit.  Fair enough helping your wife/GF (if you have one) with a small business of their own for some extra money in their name, but no need for a limited company with you involved in that case.      The only time I would recommend a foreigner get involved in having a limited company is if they plan to build a business with loads of outlets like Cafe Amazon with hundreds of staff..... something that has projected revenues of multiple millions.  

Not one little shop that might make an extra 50,000 baht a month.

I also wouldn't advise going into a business you know nothing about. So unless you've previously owned and operated restaurants or cafes (for example) then steer clear.   They are hard enough in your home country, and way harder here in Thailand.    The same goes for any business (anywhere really).

 

I didn't miss it but I would not advise that as well, since if an inspection happens, there is no actual money that was loaned. Just a fake loan agreement.

Edited January 3, 2017 by wmlc

[wmlc]

31 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I can assure you many people have gotten a work permit without showing a satang of capital.

This topic is not about a large existing company and getting a work permit.

This topic is about opening up a company and getting a work permit period. All this discussion is warranted. However, I better hush up now or I will be in trouble.

Edited January 3, 2017 by wmlc

[seancbk]

3 hours ago, wmlc said:

3 hours ago, seancbk said:

You missed my followup post where I explained that the Paid-up Capital can be accounted for in the company accounts by issuing it as a loan to the directors.   This effectively puts them on the hook for the 1 or 2 million should the company go bust.

 

 

I didn't miss it but I would not advise that as well, since if an inspection happens, there is no actual money that was loaned. Just a fake loan agreement.

 

I get your point, however when you say an inspection what are you referring to?   As long as your books are properly audited and submitted quarterly there should be no problem.  

 

Obviously the directors to whom the 'loan' was made need to be repaying it (in actual cash) as the idea is not to run a company without paid up capital, but rather to start one without and then build up the capital from profits which are paid to the Directors, which they funnel them back into the company.  That way the accounts show that the loan is being repaid.   

Again, I'm not an expert.  This is just how lots of people I know have structured their businesses.  As I said before anyone setting up a business here needs to seek out proper legal and accounting advice.   



 

[Longstaff]

OK. having been through all of this in the past 2 years, and again only a month ago, my understanding and experience is as follows:

 

1. If you are married to a Thai then setting up a simple Thai family business (not a Ltd Co) is the easiest way to go. You can get a visa based on marriage (with the required 400K in the bank), and a work permit based on having sufficient staff registered on social security. For sure you can work in your family cafe / bar /  restaurant (but you can't be a bartender). The business does not need to be VAT registered.

2. A limited company must have shareholders and the value of their shares must be declared and registered with BDB. If the shareholders are all Thai, the registered capital does not need to be proven, and can be 1 million. Thus the liability of the limited company is limited to 1 million.

3. If you set up a new Ltd Co with a farang shareholder/s (maximum 49%), then everyone's capital must be proven through their bank records, and 2 million is required

4. A farang may become a shareholder of a Thai company with their shareholding duly registered with BDB (up to 49%). This process does not require proof of capital contributed.

5. The 49% shareholding farang may be the sole director of the business.

6. To get a work permit in a limited company, the company must be VAT registered.

 

As stated previously and by seancbk above, seek legal and accounting advice...the cost of this is relatively small compared to the overall cost of establishing a business. Other TV members will happily recommend suitable advisers in their region I'm sure.

 

Doing something you have never done before is an adventure. If you are up for the challenge then get stuck in, but don't underestimate the hassles you will encounter in terms of getting through the bureaucracy and dealing with people providing services to you (especially tradesmen). Anticipate everything costing double your best estimate and taking at least twice as long as you think. Don't get blindsided by things like signboard tax after already erecting a 8 meter by 4 meter sign over the front of your shophouse!

 

Once again, good luck and best wishes for your venture.

[ericthai]

On 1/1/2017 at 5:11 AM, sirmud63 said:

not true . he could get a work permit as a cook or chef. if he has the qualifications , the same goes for a manager,you need to be qualified .  but the work permit will only allow you to work in the kitchen . you carnt wait on tables or any front of house, work . in fact you could be busted for just being behind the bar .  not only that ,if you dont make a certain amount of profit in the first year after paying tax and ss for your self and staff ,you would loose your company and all the money you put into it .  think carfully my friend .

Where are you getting this if you dont male profit you will lose the company?? When we opened out company the first 3 years we made little to no profit as we were still in the product development and only had one product to sell. We were audited several times, but that was it none of this going to lose your company crap. 

[ericthai]

10 hours ago, wmlc said:

Sure that is directly from the BOI website which is great. But you actually must have the 2 million baht in cash. You can't just pay the 10,000 Baht baht to register capital you don't have. Ridiculous to think otherwise.

I can tell you Ubonjoe is correct.  We opened our company and only had to pay the registration fee for the paid up capital, which I cant recall what that was as it was 9 years ago, but it was not much we paid something like 20,000-30,000B as we did a 5 million registered capital. We only had about 3 million baht in the account at the time. 

[p_brownstone]

16 hours ago, wmlc said:

 

The source is the ministry of Labour and code of foreign workers act as well as BOI- Board of foreign investment. I'm still waiting for the answer about whether or not the capital can be put up in other options other than cash. But I suspect you don't know. Thanks but I'm going with the law on this one. Again it is ridiculous to think you can pay the 10,000 Baht fee to register 2 million baht of capital without having the money. Ludicrous and justly unfounded advice.

 

Registered Capital and Paid up Capital are two different things as has already been mentioned.

 

However, "Paid up Capital" does NOT need to be Cash in the Bank, it can comprise any Assets - Stock, Property - even "Goodwill" owned by the Company or transferred to the Company by a Shareholder in lieu of Cash.

 

When I last formed a Company here - 7 years ago and with just 3 Shareholders as the minimum required - the Shareholders only had to produce evidence that they actually possessed  the funds to purchase their allotted Shares at the time the Company was Registered; in every case the evidence required was simply copies of the Shareholders personal Bank Statements, it was not necessary to transfer the Funds into the Company Bank Account. That said, things are tightening up lately so that may no longer be acceptable.

 

The "Loan to Director" idea used to be common but, again as already mentioned, this too is being more closely looked at by Authorities.

 

Patrick

Edited January 4, 2017 by p_brownstone

[FritsSikkink]

18 hours ago, Deepinthailand said:

When are where did this happen? Would be interesting to read about it something as high profile as that must have been in the spotlight. 

Phuket, about 10 years back. Nothing high profile about it.