Thailand FAQ: Elite Card | The Bickering Started

February 1 2010 Categories: Thailand FAQ No comments yet

How much is the Elite Card Business worth? ThailandPrivilegeCards or TPC is worth two to three billion THB (60 to 90 million USD) if you believe the Finance Ministry estimation.

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Originally posted 2009-12-17 11:11:58.

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Opinion: Don’t Throw Thailand out with the Bathwater

February 1 2010 Categories: Understanding Thailand No comments yet

I always loved idioms because there is a lot of wisdom attached to them and I particularly loved the “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater” idiom because it teach us not to discard something valuable in our eagerness to get rid of some useless thing associated with it. Something Thai political class is in need to learn quickly.

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Originally posted 2009-11-11 04:13:00.

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Living in Thailand: Thai Visas: The Visa “O” Retiree

February 1 2010 Categories: Thailand Visas, Thailand Visas & Work Permit 3 comments

What is the  The Non-Immigrant Visa  “O-A” (Long Stay) Visa

The Non-Immigrant Visa  “O-A” (Long Stay) is a visa for people that are aged 50 years and more who wish to stay in Thailand for a period of not exceeding 1 year without the intention of working.

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Originally posted 2009-07-28 15:10:50.

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Thailand Visas: Comparative Table Main Visas

February 1 2010 Categories: Thailand Visas, Thailand Visas & Work Permit 3 comments

This post conclude for the time being my series on visa. In this post I tried to make  a comparative table showing the most commonly used types of visa, their benefits and requirements. Note that some of the visa I discussed here have already been discussed in several posts already. I just want to permit readers to compare different type of visa without to switch from one post to the other.

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Originally posted 2009-10-27 10:46:41.

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Thailand Taxes: Understanding Thai withholding tax

February 1 2010 Categories: Thailand Taxes No comments yet

What is the Withholding Tax?

Withholding Tax is a tax collected by a deduction made on a payment when said payment is made. The payer who will remit it to the Revenue Department on behalf of the payee collects the tax. The tax the payer collect and remit to the Revenue Department on behalf of the payee will become a credit that will apply against the income tax (personal or corporate) due by the payee.

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Originally posted 2009-07-25 15:44:49.

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Thailand Taxes: Managing Tax Audits (part 2)

February 1 2010 Categories: Thailand Taxes No comments yet

This post is the continuation of yesterday post (Managing Tax Audits Part 1). But for the first visit, when tax officials will audit a company they will generally request it to send the documents at their office. Depending of the team auditing your company you will either be requested to send the documents first or to come for an interview first and then later to send the documents. Do not attend the interview yourself but send the accountant who is handling your company account or a tax lawyer if the issues are complexe. But the accountant should be your first choice.

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Originally posted 2009-10-09 04:41:43.

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Business Registration: Company Registration Step by Step

February 1 2010 Categories: Thailand Business, Thailand Company Registration one comment

The private limited company is the legal vehicle that is the most commonly used by foreign investors in Thailand and we will hereinafter review the formalities of registration of a private limited company. In this article we will only review the conditions of incorporation of a Private Limited Company to the exclusion of nominees and Thai/foreign shareholders ratio which are discussed in other posts. [This post replace our previous post on the subject “How to register a company step by step”.

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Originally posted 2009-10-20 07:09:45.

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Doing Business in Thailand: Global Corruption Barometer Part 2

February 1 2010 Categories: Doing Business In Thailand, Thailand Business No comments yet

In today post I continue to discuss the results of the World Bank Global Corruption Barometer 2009. Please see yesterday post on the same subject.

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Originally posted 2009-10-01 02:35:23.

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Thailand FAQ: Elite Card | Going on the Auction Block?

February 1 2010 Categories: Thailand FAQ one comment

The Cabinet has decided. Elite Card and its Members will go on the auction block. At least this is the solution that has the preference from the government. Now the question is will there be a buyer? Cause the economic model of the Elite Card does not seems to be a success. I mean Elite Card was supposed to attract 200,000 members in the first year but it only attained 2570 members over a 5 years period. Obviously Elite Card is a failed concept and project therefore what next?

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Originally posted 2009-11-18 03:30:20.

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Buying a Condominium: Purchase Formalities Step by Step

February 1 2010 Categories: Condominium Ownership, Thailand Property No comments yet

In this post I will describe step by step the formalities that must be accomplished by the seller and the buyer in order to complete the sale and purchase of a condominium. In this example I make the following assumption. The buyer is a foreign investor. The condominium unit is completed and ready for transfer.

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Originally posted 2009-11-28 05:32:53.

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Understanding Thailand: What is Thainess?

February 1 2010 Categories: Understanding Thailand No comments yet

I was checking my early posts and I realized that while I referred in several posts to the concept of Thainess, I never actually defined it.

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Originally posted 2009-08-31 10:34:04.

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Starting a Business in Thailand (4): Land Development

February 1 2010 Categories: Doing Business In Thailand, Thailand Business one comment

Land Development is an activity that attracts many foreign investors in Thailand. I often wonder why because it is really a tricky activity to invest into if you are a foreign investor for several reasons as follows:

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Originally posted 2009-11-10 06:17:05.

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Thailand Outlook: 2010 a year of recovery or danger?

February 1 2010 Categories: Doing Business In Thailand No comments yet

This morning was published Thailand economic forecasts for 2010. According the Fiscal Policy Office, Thai Economy will rebound next year with a growth of 3.5% next year. Not as good as the growth forecasts for other Asian countries but not so bad country that has been trough 3 years of political crisis and a world economic crisis.

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Originally posted 2009-12-29 06:58:51.

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Buying a Condominium: Buying with an offshore company

February 1 2010 Categories: Condominium Ownership, Thailand Property No comments yet

Should you buy your condominium unit in person or should you register an offshore company to purchase it on your behalf? Both options are available with their advantages and drawbacks.

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Originally posted 2009-08-24 11:43:20.

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Understanding Thailand Political Crisis towards a reconciliation?

February 1 2010 Categories: Understanding Thailand No comments yet

While the purpose of this blog is to inform on how to do business and not to do politic I will nevertheless from time to time dedicate a post to Thai Political Crisis. Indeed Thai Political crisis that has been ongoing since September 2006 has dramatically affected Thai society as a whole and also have caused a lot of distress within the local business community and also the foreign business community with an important diminution of foreign direct investment.

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Originally posted 2009-08-23 13:49:56.

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Starting a Business: The One Start One Stop Investment Center

February 1 2010 Categories: Doing Business In Thailand, Thailand Business No comments yet

To enhance investment confidence and apparently to facilitate their life the government has established a One Start One Stop Investment Center (OSOS). The primary objective of the center is to help investor to start their business by regrouping up to 18 different administrations under a single roof. Will it help Thailand to regain foreign investors confidence.

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Originally posted 2009-12-02 01:50:44.

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Buying a Condominium: Issues applicable to married buyers

February 1 2010 Categories: Condominium Ownership, Thailand Property No comments yet

If you are married, you have two options when buying a condominium freehold in Thailand. You may either wish to buy the condominium in co-ownership with your foreign or Thai spouse or you may purchase it solely under your name by fulfilling some simple requirements. What you cannot do is to lie about your marital status in order to purchase a condominium in sole ownership while married

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Originally posted 2009-08-20 05:25:22.

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Thai Airways: Ridicule does not kill But Old Planes Do

February 1 2010 Categories: Understanding Thailand No comments yet

To start the year with a smile Thai Airways Board is fortunate that ridicule does not kill otherwhise it would have been decimated which would have been sad those guys that have given us so many reasons to laugh recently.

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Originally posted 2010-01-05 07:26:01.

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Starting a Business: Cost of Doing Business in Thailand

February 1 2010 Categories: Thailand Business No comments yet

One question that many investors are asking is whether it is expensive to do business in Thailand? The answer is mixed. On the positive side, Bangkok is according to a CB Richard Elis survey ranking 151st out of 179 markets in terms of office rental costs. Average rental costs in Bangkok for prime grade office are around 694 THB per square meter/per month (or 21 USD).

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Originally posted 2009-12-11 06:52:35.

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Living In Thailand: Thai Visas – Cleaning the House

February 1 2010 Categories: Thailand Visas, Thailand Visas & Work Permit No comments yet

On the 11 September 2009, Thai news reported a new crackdown on back-to-back Tourist visa applications under the form of an extended screening of visa applicants. Unfortunately I must say that this latest measure does not surprise me and is only one side of a new policy started by the immigration department around two years ago as part of a “spring house cleaning”.

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Originally posted 2009-09-12 06:32:32.

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Investing in Thailand: Prohibited or controlled businesses

February 1 2010 Categories: Thailand Foreign Business Act No comments yet

What is the Foreign Business Act?

The Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (A.D.1999) (“FBA”) was enacted on March 4, 2000 to replace the Alien Business Act of 1971. The FBA does not regulate the entire matter of foreign investment in Thailand. The FBA purposes are:

  1. to define businesses activities, which exercise by foreigners, is prohibited or controlled and
  2. to define what a foreigner is.

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Originally posted 2009-07-21 08:54:44.

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Buying Property: The foreign exchange risk factor

February 1 2010 Categories: Property General Issues, Thailand Property No comments yet

Is Real Estate truly the most secure investment?

When the time come to invest most people tend to consider real estate as the most secure long term investment.

This is true for many reasons, one of which being that while companies may go out of business real estate properties will exist forever. In addition, but for period of bump like the current crisis, the average price of properties will appreciate over the long term steadily.

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Originally posted 2009-07-27 05:57:28.

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Exchange Rates: EURO, USD, GBP vs THB from 2006 to 2009

February 1 2010 Categories: Thailand Banking No comments yet

One criteria you will have to consider when investing into Thailand will be the long term volatility of the currency of your home country against the THB because the evolution of the exchange rates will be one of the element that will affect on the long term your return on your investment. Being no financial wizard I cannot tell you how currencies will evolute against each others in the future. What I can show you is how some of the main world currencies have evolved against the THB during the past four years.

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Originally posted 2009-10-14 02:03:45.

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Corporate: Directors Duties and Liability

February 1 2010 Categories: Doing Business In Thailand, Thailand Business No comments yet

For reason I cannot come to understand many foreign investors view Thailand as a place where you can do business as you want without having to worried of the potential consequences. Nothing could be farthest from the truth than this belief.

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Originally posted 2009-11-08 07:06:53.

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Work Permit:Working With No Work Permit|The Denunciation

February 1 2010 Categories: Thailand Visas & Work Permit, Thailand Work Permit No comments yet

If you are working without a work permit the first thing you must understand is that you are at risk of a control either from the Labor Officer or the Immigration Officer.

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Originally posted 2009-11-25 04:22:54.

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Thailand Politics | The dangers ahead – What to Watch for?

February 1 2010 Categories: Thailand Business, What's Up at DBT No comments yet

For those who did not have a chance to read it an excellent article by Martin Petty (Reuters 1 February 2010) discussed the dangers ahead of us in Thailand, that is to say  political instability and the threat of a coup.

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Doing Business In Thailand: The Nominees Issue (part 1)

February 1 2010 Categories: Doing Business In Thailand, Thailand Business 2 comments

Note: This post is not entirely new. This subject was first posted as a Page called “Nominee Issue”. I’m about to modify the look of the blog and decided that some of the subjects discussed in pages would now be treated as posts. Of course I updated the content of this post to reflect the current situation.

The “Thai Nominee” issue is the more acute problem of foreign investment in Thailand and we will discuss here the many aspects of this problem.

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Originally posted 2009-10-12 01:18:43.

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Doing Business in Thailand: Should I “Way” or should I not?

February 1 2010 Categories: Understanding Thailand No comments yet

What is “Thainess”

In a nutshell “Thainess” is a concept that provides the foundation for social harmony and the respect of order in a patriarchal, hierarchical society where people display cool heads, warm hearts, gratitude and public deference.

“Thainess” has a lot of by-products that we will discuss from time to time in this blog.

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Originally posted 2009-08-11 12:47:19.

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Working in Thailand: Work Permits Fee Increase

February 1 2010 Categories: Thailand Visas & Work Permit, Thailand Work Permit No comments yet

Once again the foreign community is busing with rumors of a next hike of work permit fees that would soon increase up to 7,000 THB. Of course as a foreign investor I regret any increase of fees or anything which will make the situation more difficult for foreign investors in Thailand. Read more…

Originally posted 2009-09-01 10:50:05.

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Thailand Taxes: Managing Tax Audits (part 1)

February 1 2010 Categories: Thailand Taxes No comments yet

In this post I will try to give readers a few tips on how to manage Tax Audits. I guess that readers would prefer tips on “how to avoid a tax audit”. Unfortunately, in Thailand, you cannot avoid tax audit. To the contrary, you may expect regular mandatory visits from the Tax Administration.

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Originally posted 2009-10-08 05:12:15.

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