Practical Tip on Arbitration Clauses for Thailand that Allows You to Have Your Cake and it Too.
There is little dispute that international arbitration is the best way to resolve cross-border disputes. A 2018 International Arbitration Survey carried out by Queen Mary University of London in partnership with the White & Case law firm demonstrates that international arbitration is the accepted and expected means of resolving cross border disputes. The survey reports that 97% of the...
Higher Returns for Property, Tourism, Entertainment, etc. Sectors After Pandemic Ends
Higher Returns in Tourism, Property, etc., after the Pandemic Ends
The Bangkok Post reported on 20 November 2020 that “Thailand’s biggest manager of distressed assets is bracing for another difficult year in 2021, as the economy faces more headwinds from the pandemic”. This article goes on to quote Bungyong Visatemongkolchai, the chairman of Bangkok Commercial Asset Management Plc (BAM) as...
Top 12 Things to Keep in Mind When Planning on Doing Business in Thailand
The top 12 things to keep in mind when planning to do business in Thailand:
1. Foreign Ownership of Companies and Land: This is often a surprise for business people and lawyers operating in more open economies, but foreigners are prohibited from owning land (absent narrow exceptions) and foreign majority owned businesses are prohibited from engaging in a wide range of...
International Arbitration in Thailand – A Work in Progress
Thailand has made some progress on international arbitration, but it’s still a work in progress. Thailand has, for example, made it possible for foreign representatives and arbitrators to conduct and participate in arbitration proceedings in Thailand, but some restrictions on foreign representatives and arbitrators remain.
Judicial hostility towards arbitration awards against governmental...
Facing the Foreign Business Act
To legally engage in activities restricted under the FBA, an alien company must obtain a Foreign Business License (“FBL”) or a Foreign Business Certificate (“FBC”) from the DBD. This is often easier said than done, but there are some exceptions.
Serious and Real Reform of the Thai FBA is Overdue.
The Bangkok Post reported on 21 May 2018 that the foreign business community is (again) pressing for reform of the Foreign Business Operations Act (FBA). We are seeing that again now.
Reform is absolutely necessary, but the foreign business community needs to look carefully at reform proposals, because many past proposals, if they had been enacted, would have made the FBA more restrictive....
Compliance in the Time of Covid
Covid-19 has created a perfect storm for regulatory lapses and failures: an unprecedented combination of business and regulatory disruption in a condensed time of period. Compliance requirements and safeguards are ignored, and compliance investigations hindered, delayed, or canceled. But do not expect the Department of Justice or the Securities and the Exchange Commission(“SEC”) to relax...
Compliance Investigations in Thailand: Caste and Candor
There is one word that should start any real discussion about corruption in Thailand, and that word is Sakdina (ศักดินา). Sakdina is a historical system of social hierarchy that went so far as to assign a specific numerical rank to every person in Thailand depending on their status. Although officially abolished, it persists, in a less recognizable form, to this day. Tourists and first-time...
A Perfect Storm For Thailand’s Tourism Sector
Pfizer and BioNTech have announced the development of a vaccine that is over 90% successful in preventing Covid-19. This should open investment opportunities in Thailand, particularly in Thailand’s tourism sector.
Thailand’s tourism sector and much of its economy has been in a slump since the Thai government took stringent measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in Thailand. Thailand’s...
TAT Sentence Upheld on Appeal
The Bangkok Post is reporting that the convictions of the former Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Ms. Juthamas Siriwan, and her daughter, Jittisopa Siriwan, have been held up on appeal to the Thai Supreme Court. This presumably brings an end to the long saga of the Bangkok Film festival corruption case.