Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing foreign nationals wishing to do business here in the Kingdom of Thailand, specifically we are talking about what are called nominee issues. So for those who are unaware, nominees are actually illegal in Thailand, I have done a number of videos on this before. It is illegal to utilize a Thai to own shares in a Thai Company solely for the purpose of maintaining compliance with the Foreign Business Act. For those who are unaware, the Foreign Business Act does stipulate that foreign nationals, or I should say foreign nationals involved in a Thai Company, the maximum amount under most circumstances that a foreigner can own is 49%. There may be a way to avail oneself of certain provisions in International Agreements such as the US-Thai Treaty of Amity, as well as concessions under the Board of Investment or the Eastern Economic Corridor's business promotion platform. There may be ways to, I hesitate to say circumvent, but there may be ways to comply with Thai Law without having to deal with the Foreign Business Act. That said, some opt to use nominees, again nominees are illegal. The definition of a nominee is also something that is kind of somewhat hard to nail down. It is going to be very fact-specific, very dependent on circumstances but it is one of those things that I believe in the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes, "you know it when you see it" kind of thing.

That said, I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Visa-free influx proves to be mixed blessing. Quoting directly: "He, ( and he is Surawat Akaraworamat, Vice President of the Tourism Council of Thailand) so, "He also said Thailand's Visa-free policy may also prompt Chinese businesses to invest in Thailand's tourism industry using Thai nominees which will enable them to compete with local business operators." Quote: "Even though Thailand has laws in place to deal with Thais acting as nominees on behalf of foreigners, the problem is that law enforcers do not measure up. This area (law enforcement) needs to be improved." 

So as have we discussed in other videos, look nominees are an issue. We have discussed in other videos where raids have occurred for corporations that were ostensibly using nominees in order to hold land on behalf of foreign nationals; I've done the videos in the past of raids that resulted therefrom. The thing to take away from this video and to understand is yeah, nominees continue to be illegal in Thailand and those that engage in businesses utilizing nominees, you need to be aware of the fact that you could be subject to law enforcement. You could see your enterprise dissolved for example; you could see it become subject to legal execution and basically have your property seized. These are all problems you don't really want to have. So there is a way to set yourself up in Thailand and do business here in such a way that complies with relevant law. Again, you may have a Thai partner of some sort; you may have someone who is involved with your business but again being a nominee and actually working in a business are two very different things as we have discussed in other videos and you need to be aware of that before trying to do business in Thailand in such a way that could result in basically a detrimental situation for you down the road.