Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing, well recent revelations that a number of companies, especially on certain islands in the southern part of Thailand have foreign share holdings, and this is causing some consternation in policy-making circles here in Thailand. Let's just jump in here. I thought of making this video after reading a recent posting on X from the Thai Enquirer, so it's @ThaiEnquirer on X, quoting directly: "Foreign shareholders hold stakes in nearly 68% of registered companies on Koh Phangan and Koh Samui, according to a Thai government investigation that has intensified scrutiny of suspected nominee business arrangements on the two tourist islands. The Department of Business Development said authorities found 11,426 companies with foreign shareholders on Koh Phangan and Koh Samui, accounting for 67.97% of the 16,811 registered firms on the islands. The findings emerged as officials launched a broader crackdown of businesses suspected of using Thai nationals as nominee shareholders to circumvent foreign ownership restrictions." 

So as I have discussed in other videos, one, the Royal Thai Army has recently gotten involved in this, specifically through ISOC. That is a major development, and it means that the Thai Government is taking this extremely seriously. When we are looking at a situation where 68% of all the corporations that are down on those islands have some form of foreign holding on it - I have got to be honest with you, most of the time, I tend to give the benefit of the doubt to the individual or to the public - that's a really high number, I mean by any metric. That means nearly 70% of all the registered Incorporated entities down there have some sort of foreign involvement. I can see where the Thai government is a little bit, for lack of a better term, suspicious and concerned and wants to delve further into what's going on. 

Now as we have discussed in other videos, it is possible, very possible, to set up a company here in Thailand, be a foreign national, be involved in it, be a minority shareholder, have a substantial amount of day-to-day operational, for lack of a better term, control or management capacity, but again you have to be very aware of the definition of nominee in Thailand, what that entails. You have to be very aware of counterparties. If you have got somebody on a company that is just purely there to meet a formal requirement and have nothing else to do with the company, that is problematic. Also as we have discussed in other videos, the main thrust of this seems to be focused on utilizing corporate entities to own property in Thailand in violation of Thai laws regarding the restriction of precisely that - foreign property ownership, ownership of Thai property by foreign nationals is what I should be saying. 

So the thing to understand and to take away from this video is again, law enforcement here in Thailand is not messing around. I think we've come to a critical mass here especially we have got a newly empaneled Parliament; we have a situation where it seems to be there's a broad policy consensus, across the spectrum in Thailand, regarding national sovereignty and the protection associated therewith, especially in the aftermath of the events that occurred this past summer. So I think the thing to understand and keep in mind is while it's very possible to come to Thailand to do business, you need to be setting up your corporate entity in compliance with Thai Law and utilizing especially professionals that understand the nuances of this, and understand the fluidity of Thai Law regarding these issues, but can still set up structures that will be in compliance and will allow folks to do business with proper authorization and proper work authorization here in the Kingdom of Thailand.