So, You Want to Open an Offshore Company in Thailand?

To be able to open an offshore company in Thailand, a foreigner must incorporate a juristic entity, commonly a Thai Limited Company and it must have the following;

1. Shareholders — Minimum of 3 shareholders, and during the incorporation stage it would have to be 3 natural people (of any nationality). Should you wish to have your offshore juristic entity (e.g. your offshore head office) to be one of the shareholders of this Thai juristic entity, this could be done after the incorporation of the company.

2. Director(s) — Minimum of 1 person

3. Address — An address in Thailand to be the registered address of the company

4. Objective(s) — A clear and detail objective(s)

5. License(s) — Some objective will require specific license(s) in order to operate (if required)

Well, in most cases, the majority of the shares i.e., 51% or more needs to be owned by a Thai national(s). Having said that there are a few business activities that allow you to hold the majority of the shares. This is likely to happen to those who would be performing;

1. Only export activity (i.e. Sourcing goods within Thailand and to export them out), or

2. Business activities that corresponding the BOI’s eligible activity list, or

3. If the majority of the shares are to be owned by American nationals (including Directorship); or

4. Apply for Alien Business License (also known as Foreign Business License) for your offshore juristic entity, such as Branch Office, Regional Office or a Representative office); or

5. Trade treaty(ies) that allow your nationality to perform certain business in Thailand while holding the majority of the shares (e.g. FTA between Thai and Japanese or FTA between Thai and Australian)

If you are interested in opening an offshore company in Thailand, write to us for more information. You may write to us at officer@konradlegal.com.