Starting a small business in Thailand

[kaleyho]

Hello
I find confusing report about foreigners starting business in Thailand. I see that it has to be 49% only for foreigners.

Is there a minimum investment amount and number of employees required? I am thinking to partner with my fiancee to start a small learning center  to teach English and primary education.

Any advise or links will be helpful.

The business will be mostly run by my fiancee but I will join her in couple of years to live there.

Thanks

[impulse]

Not meaning to be unhelpful but suck it up and pay for some legal advice.  You'll be $$$ ahead starting there now instead of later.

 

Any advice you get here will have about a 50% chance of being correct.  You're even better off using Google and looking for law offices in Thailand that offer free advice in an effort to attract clients.  

 

This is an extremely emotionally charged topic among foreigners frustrated that they haven't been able to make their dreams come true in Thailand.  Sometimes, they're right.  Sometimes, they're their own worst enemy.  And most of them give up before they even try, based on barstool advisers.

 

 

Edited July 27, 2017 by impulse

[KIWIBATCH]

Don't...!!....from day 1 you will only own 49%  of the business....with 51% being owned by some Thai person ...where else in the world would you hand over 51% of YOUR business to someone......

[williamgeorgeallen]

i have had a business in thailand for 10 years. cards are stacked against any business with a foreign work permit or with part foreign ownership. the whole 49% ownership is just a control thing. you can put in 100% but you will not have control. if you believe your wife has what it takes to start and run a business then go for it. put in what ever you can afford to loose.  PM me if you want any details, it is mostly advice that has been posted on other threads.

[Suradit69]

5 hours ago, kaleyho said:

I am thinking to partner with my fiancee to start a small learning center  to teach English and primary education.

Assuming that it is she who would be teaching, at least initially, it would probably be a good idea for her to try to drum up some business at home just to "test the waters" and without having to invest much money.Teaching English is a pretty saturated market.

 

If by "primary education" you mean Thai children starting their school experience, I have a feeling that would require a lot of hoops to jump through in order to legitimize your program and of course you'd be in competition with government schools or well-established private schools with a track record that would make the expense to parents seem justified.

[little mary sunshine]

Yes,   Turn it into a million dollar business in

1 year......Just start with 3 million!!!

[bberrythailand]

Nothing to register if you are not directly involved now. Who cares ridiculous Thai law and rules.

 

 

[catman20]

DONT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tommy1873]

I bought a run down coffee shop in Bangkok for me and my Thai wife, invested time and money in it and knew the risk involved, unfortunately I could not bear life in Thailand anymore and have returned home, she of course has the business now but you pays your money and you take the chance. Like anything in life you do what you feel is right and run with it you must remember you are in an alien environment with pros and cons, after 2 years I decided to get out, better the rat race you know but I would not discourage anyone from having a go it just was not for me.

[impulse]

4 hours ago, KIWIBATCH said:

Don't...!!....from day 1 you will only own 49%  of the business....with 51% being owned by some Thai person ...where else in the world would you hand over 51% of YOUR business to someone......

 

In every market in the world, there is more money looking for good opportunities than there are good opportunities.  Thailand is no exception.  If anyone has to give away 51% of their business, they either didn't talk to the right Thai people, their business plan isn't good enough to attract investment $$$, or they fell for the power of the poon.   The investment can be in the form of $$$, real estate, equipment, manpower, or other value.  

 

Not to mention that having Thai "owners" who didn't put up anything for their share would be pretty clear examples of illegal proxy owners.

 

Along the same line, do you figure Siemens or GE "gave away" 51% of their business to open up in Thailand?  They're incorporated in another country, and have a 49% owned division in Thailand that may be owned 51% by Thai's but the home office calls all the shots, owns all the assets (leases them to the Thai division), decides how to apportion the profits, and could unwind the Thai division in a heartbeat if they were getting hosed.  Not too hard for a small business to incorporate in Hong Kong and have a Thai division that owns...nothing.

 

Edit:  And that takes us back to my original advice to get legal help from the start.

 

Edited July 27, 2017 by impulse

[MadMuhummad]

10 hours ago, impulse said:

  Not too hard for a small business to incorporate in Hong Kong and have a Thai division that owns...nothing.

 

Edit:  And that takes us back to my original advice to get legal help from the start.

 

Exactly the path myself and my busy partners will be taking if or when our concept gets off the ground. Great advice.

[Damrongsak]

Poon Tang Thai Corp.  They own it, we lease it, short time.

[KKr]

22 hours ago, impulse said:

Along the same line, do you figure Siemens or GE "gave away" 51% of their business to open up in Thailand?  They're incorporated in another country, and have a 49% owned division in Thailand that may be owned 51% by Thai's but the home office calls all the shots, owns all the assets (leases them to the Thai division), decides how to apportion the profits, and could unwind the Thai division in a heartbeat if they were getting hosed.  Not too hard for a small business to incorporate in Hong Kong and have a Thai division that owns...nothing.

just to clarify that you mean operating assets, not the premises.

[impulse]

18 minutes ago, KKr said:

just to clarify that you mean operating assets, not the premises.

 

That's correct.  Machinery, intellectual property, trademark rights, etc.  

 

Also a great way for international companies to dodge taxes by recognizing the revenue from leasing assets owned by a division in a low tax country to a division in a high tax country.  That makes it look like the low tax division is making all the profits.  Not saying I agree with doing it, but that's why so many companies like Google and Apple are in the news for tax shenanigans.

 

But to take advantage, you need legal advice. Not just paying some attorney to fill out the correct forms for you.

 

 

[kaleyho]

Thank you all for your replies. Yes, legal advice might be the way to go. Honestly, I don't need to "work" there, but I need to keep myself busy, hence the idea of a small business for visa.

 

[bberrythailand]

On 7/27/2017 at 5:27 PM, Tommy1873 said:

I bought a run down coffee shop in Bangkok for me and my Thai wife, invested time and money in it and knew the risk involved, unfortunately I could not bear life in Thailand anymore and have returned home, she of course has the business now but you pays your money and you take the chance. Like anything in life you do what you feel is right and run with it you must remember you are in an alien environment with pros and cons, after 2 years I decided to get out, better the rat race you know but I would not discourage anyone from having a go it just was not for me.

 

Another champion opening a business without even knowing the country well and knowing if he will like to stay here long term. People are so weird...