Advice about new business / investment in Thailand.

[waxpro]

Hello,

I've a friend in the US. he was asking about investment opportunities in Thailand,

mentioned to invest in property sector, to buy old houses, renovate them sell,

or new condo units under construction, till finish then rent or sell if can make a better deal in price,

Also, he is interested about agriculture sector, to lease land for grow crops,

or build warehouses to store crop products then sell or export,

personally, I have no any experiences in all these matters, only what I knew that a foreigner can buy condo,

or establish a company then use that biz name to buy house or lease land, but not sure of more details about this,

I would like to know if any of you invested in real estate, or agricultural, growing crops, or storing and trading/exporting agri products from here?

As to open a new company for such case, shall go to lawyer office? or any Govt department,

any advise or recommendation will be appreciated,

thanks in advance,

 

 

 

[henry15]

Forget it. the bussines he like to do is prohibited for foreigners.

[Suradit69]

2 hours ago, waxpro said:

to invest in property sector, to buy old houses, renovate them sell,

or new condo units under construction, till finish then rent or sell if can make a better deal in price,

Also, he is interested about agriculture sector, to lease land for grow crops,

or build warehouses to store crop products then sell or export,

He should stick to doing these things in his home country where he has (one assumes) a clue about how such things are done. All aspects of the real estate market here are saturated and the things you've listed would be restricted or prohibited to foreigners.

[waxpro]

43 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

He should stick to doing these things in his home country where he has (one assumes) a clue about how such things are done. All aspects of the real estate market here are saturated and the things you've listed would be restricted or prohibited to foreigners.

No ideas about can or can't,

what I say say that they have products like rice, sugar for exports,

other stuff I dont know, that's why I asked if anyone had the same experience, or done something similar, or any..

[Suradit69]

21 minutes ago, waxpro said:

No ideas about can or can't,

Can or can't are step one in any investment.

 

Any farang who claims to have successful experience in renovating or flipping condos here should be viewed with a healthy amount of skepticism. 

 

[robertson468]

If your Friend is interested in purchasing a business that has now been running for 12 years and has a reputable name, which can be proved from other websites and can achieve a ROI of 10%+, please PM me and I can give you a full brief.  He is also very welcome to come and see the business in operation.   Despite what the "nay sayers" say above, it can be done.......I have already done it.

[timendres]

I suggest that your friend investigate a cross-section of possible investments.

There are many in different industries, each with different risk-reward profiles.

Much depends on his objectives.

[janpharma]

Advise?..."Forget about it and dream on"...

[1FinickyOne]

All of these ideas are difficult and the chances of success w/o understanding or knowing intensely the markets in addition to having connections, would make it a long learning curve w/a very limited chance of success - 

 

In business, it is really best to stick with what you know - real estate markets here do not even vaguely resemble markets in USA.

[bazza73]

4 hours ago, Suradit69 said:

He should stick to doing these things in his home country where he has (one assumes) a clue about how such things are done. All aspects of the real estate market here are saturated and the things you've listed would be restricted or prohibited to foreigners.

One of the big rules of investing is never invest in anything you don't understand. There are falangs here that can speak Thai fluently, and still be baffled by some of the quirks of Thai business. Not to mention the connections one needs to develop to protect whatever business is started. Better the OP's friend sticks to what he knows. If he wants to live here, maintaining his investment activity in the US is the way to do it.

[waxpro]

Thanks to all your comments,

I done some searching in this forum, I can say that property market is over saturated,

In Cambodia probably chances are much better if to buy some units and rent them out,

but, another main obstacle, that I dont know anything about the rules there, as I guess any biz deal seems to be surrounded by corruption etc,

Maybe I can suggest to stay away from property market in here, buying products and export probably still the best option to my understand,

 

[tryasimight]

3 hours ago, robertson468 said:

If your Friend is interested in purchasing a business that has now been running for 12 years and has a reputable name, which can be proved from other websites and can achieve a ROI of 10%+, please PM me and I can give you a full brief.  He is also very welcome to come and see the business in operation.   Despite what the "nay sayers" say above, it can be done.......I have already done it.

And if he's not interested in that...I have a bridge  

[khunPer]

Your friend in US should start reading this "US-Thailand Treaty of Amity", explaining US-citizen's benefits when investing in business (opening a company limited) in Thailand; herunder 51% foreign (US only) ownership...

Edited August 16, 2017 by khunPer

[timendres]

14 minutes ago, khunPer said:

Your friend in US should start reading this "US-Thailand Treaty of Amity", explaining US-citizen's benefits when investing in business (opening a company limited) in Thailand; herunder 51% foreign (US only) ownership...

My company is registered under the Amity Treaty, allowing me 99.8% ownership (you still need to have three shareholders, hence 0.2% is owned by two other US citizens). The Amity treaty conveys other privileges beyond just percentage ownership and is a must read for any US citizen investing in Thailand.

[timendres]

2 hours ago, waxpro said:

Maybe I can suggest to stay away from property market in here, buying products and export probably still the best option to my understand,

There are many who have invested in property here and done well. Many who have not. The best times for investment here, in my opinion, have passed for now. My problem with investing in property, especially here, is the complexity and the lack of liquidity (of property investment in general, which is magnified being a foreigner).

 

Export businesses can do well here also, I have no insight there.

 

But there are many possible investments in Thailand, and are they are certainly not obvious to someone who has not been here for some time and made local connections. My advice would be for your friend to spend at least 2 years living here and investigating those possibilities before making a large investment. Rushing in is a mistake.

[bangkok8]

I have lived in Thailand for 10 years.  I owned many properties, homes, condos, and land.  Additionally i owned a pizza business.  My advice is forget it.  Everyone here is out to cheat you.  Impossible to find help.  I could go on and on.  Its not a business frindly o r even a friendly place.to live

[Asiantravel]

17 hours ago, waxpro said:

Thanks to all your comments,

I done some searching in this forum, I can say that property market is over saturated,

In Cambodia probably chances are much better if to buy some units and rent them out,

but, another main obstacle, that I dont know anything about the rules there, as I guess any biz deal seems to be surrounded by corruption etc,

Maybe I can suggest to stay away from property market in here, buying products and export probably still the best option to my understand,

 

 

" In Cambodia probably chances are much better if to buy some units and rent them out,"

 

.............Maybe your friend needs to do a lot of research before coming to that conclusion

 

https://aecnewstoday.com/2017/is-the-phnom-penh-property-market-headed-for-a-massive-crash/