Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the US-Thai Treaty of Amity, we are discussing the Eastern Economic Corridor and we are discussing the Board of Investment. For those who are unaware, the United States and Thailand share a Treaty which allows American Companies and Americans to come to Thailand and do business with "National Treatment". What this means as a practical matter is Americans can come to Thailand and they can own their Company 100%; they can do business outright just as Thais can. No need to deal with what is called the Foreign Business Act which generally in most cases will require a 49/51 foreign to Thai shareholder distribution in order to be in compliance with Thai Law; the Amity Treaty overcomes that.

Meanwhile you have got what is called the Board of Investment, the BOI. The Board of Investment provides concessions to certain preferred types of businesses; businesses that bring in certain technologies, certain types of investment to Thailand. It may be possible to gain concessions including tax holidays under the BOI structure. Then finally we are dealing with something relatively new, we're talking about the Eastern Economic Corridor which is both a geographical location as well as a deliberative body which can, much like the BOI, issue certain concessions to those wishing to do business here in Thailand specifically within the parameters of the Eastern Economic Corridor, that is the three Eastern provinces in Thailand which fall under the law, fall under the enabling Act which are Chachoengsao, Chonburi and Rayong Provinces.

Now the reason for the video, to talk about all three of these is particularly as an American, you may be able to gain benefits under one or all or some of these various schemes here in Thailand. So things like the Treaty of Amity, an American Company that wants to set up like an SME for example and the American wants to own his Company outright, yeah the American Amity Treaty is a very simple way of dealing with that; I hesitate to say simple but straightforward way of dealing with that. Now larger concerns that may be bringing in technological advancement and sort of the industries that Thailand is looking to promote, things like the Board of Investment may be substantively beneficial to that type of enterprise. Meanwhile if you are looking to do either or both of those things and you are looking to set up in the Eastern Economic Corridor, the EEC may provide benefits that both may be able to provide, for example The Amity Treaty it is not really mutually exclusive to either. You can be Amity certified and seek BOI or EEC benefits or both depending on circumstances but if you are physically located or planning to be physically located in the geographic area covered by the EEC then you may be able to gain benefits under that particular body. 

The point to take away from this video, for folks looking to do business in Thailand, there are a number of different benefits especially for Americans under the Treaty but not just Americans. BOI and EEC can provide Foreign Business Certification which means if you are not an American, you are a Swedish Company or something, you are looking to come into Thailand and you're looking to do business, if you can gain approval under the BOI, or the EEC, it may be possible for you to own that company 100%, no need for a 49/51 shareholding. So long story short, a lot of benefits can be gained for folks who are looking to come and do business in any of these places under the rubric of any of these different schemes here in the Kingdom of Thailand.