Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing what is the impetus for this nominee crackdown in Thailand? And I've done a number of videos - in fact it is probably what I have talked about most in maybe the last six weeks - is this whole issue associated with the Department of Business Development bringing these new tools, these analytical tools online and it is causing them, I shouldn't say causing them, but it is resulting in major heightened scrutiny by the Department of Business Development of all types of entities, but it seems that the main focus is on these entities that own property. 

That said, I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Chiang Rai Times, chiangraitimes.com, article is titled: Thailand Targets Nominee Property Deals, Foreign Buyers Face Rising Legal Risk in 2026. Quoting directly: "Legal specialists say the core issue is simple: authorities will look at what a company really does, not just how it appears on paper. If the company exists mainly to hold land for a foreign buyer, it may breach both the FBA and the Land Code." - by the FBA they mean the Foreign Business Act.

So this is the point I want to get across with this video. I've done a number of these videos on the nominee issue. Again, the real impetus behind this, the real focus seems to be on using these corporate structures to contravene Thai restrictions on foreign land ownership in Thailand; that is the concern. It's not so much the issue of nominees themselves - although nominees are illegal in Thailand - but look, there are structures here in Thailand. We assist many clients with these types of structures and maintaining compliance associated with them. There are many operational companies in Thailand that are set up 49/51; the Foreign Business Act says that is being in compliance, but again, they are going to look at the substance of things. I have had a lot of people asking me what does that mean? What are they looking for? Well one of the major things they are looking for and that's what to take away from this video, is if it's being used just to own land; that's their big concern. Now again, things associated with restricted occupations and certain aspects of the Thai economy are also a concern. My personal opinion is I am very hopeful that Thai policy makers will kind of put that whole issue more or less on the more back burner, and be more concerned with the foreign ownership of land, because I worry that it could put foreign investors off all this notion of regulatory oversight that isn't concerned with "legal form" as I've gone into in other videos, to my mind, that path doesn't go to a particularly productive place, particularly good place I think for Thailand, because it could have an impact on foreign direct investment. 

But I definitely think as a Thai even, that looking at these corporate structures in order to ascertain if they are merely a smoke screen for foreign land ownership is a laudable endeavour by authorities here in the Kingdom of Thailand.