With the ministerial regulation by the Ministry of Commerce of June 25th, 2019, the following services provided by foreign-owned companies, to affiliated companies, are excluded from the obligation to obtain a Foreign Business License according to Schedule Three (21) of the Foreign Business Act.

  • Lending money to affiliated companies in Thailand;
  • Renting out office space
  • Providing consultation and recommendations in the following sectors:
    • Management;
    • Marketing;
    • Human resources;
    • Information technology.

It needs to be mentioned that it is possible to provide consultation and recommendations to affiliated companies that are located outside of Thailand.

Before the new regulation came into effect, foreign companies providing these services had to obtain a Foreign Business License to act in accordance with the law. This required them to fulfill additional conditions which were hard to meet for small companies or Start-Ups. This new regulation is a further step, that is underlining Thailand's effort to open its market for foreign business carefully.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.