Doing Business in Thailand

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.

Thainess is a multi facets concept that does not fit in one simple definition. The closest I could come from a definition would be to say:

Firstly Thainess is the idea of a common collective identity which is based on the three common elements that is to say, Thai language, Buddhist religion, and Monarchy which all Thai people share.

Secondly it is a concept that provides the foundations for social harmony and the respect of order in a patriarchal, hierarchical society where people display cool heads, warm hearts, gratitude and public deference.

Thirdly, Thainess is this little something that makes Thai people who they are.

While the first two elements are easy to grasp the last one is something that can never be truly explained or understood without actually living and experiencing it.

You can learn Thai language but you cannot learn Thainess, it is instinctive. Foreigners in Thailand can be divided into two categories, those that have it and those that will never have it.

You don’t necessarily need to understand this latest aspect of Thainess to do business in Thailand but it helps because you will get less frustrated if you have it or supposedly.

About the Author:

The author Rene-Philippe DUBOUT is a lawyer since 1990 when he was admitted to Geneva bar (Switzerland). He practiced as a litigator there for 10 years until he moved to Thailand in 1999. In 2002 he founded with a group of Thai lawyers Rene Philippe & Partners Ltd a local law firm that specialized in Cross Borders Investments and Real Estate. He has been lecturing in several Thai Universities and a speaker to numerous conferences and seminars. He is the author of a must read book:”How to Purchase Real Estate Offshore Safely: The Case of Thailand”.

http//:www.renephilippe.com