Predications for Thailand – 2022
Random thoughts and musings about what we can expect in 2022. Not scientific in any sense of the word; entirely tongue-in-cheek.
1.Thailand’s Economic Growth: 3.3%
Not terribly robust, but not as bad as it could be. Siam Commercial Bank’s research house recently downgraded its economic forecast for Thailand’s economic growth from 3.4% to 3.2% because of the omicron variant’s global spread.
But...
Franchising Law in Thailand
When someone mentions franchises, fast food burger joints are probably the first thing that comes to mind. But franchising can and is used for many other businesses.
Franchising relationships include fitness clubs, food delivery services, cleaning services, property management services, financial and bookkeeping services, private schools, assisted living facilities, management consulting...
Cross Examination in International Arbitration – Thailand
Conducting a cross examination in an international arbitration proceeding is like conducting a cross examination in a domestic arbitration or trial, but there are some differences. International arbitrations, by definition, involve witnesses, arbitrators, and parties from different countries. Adopting a more civil and polite tone is almost always the best approach when you are representing a...
Finality Of Awards: Investor-State Disputes. ICSID? (One in a series of articles on dispute resolution in Thailand)
One of the key virtues of any dispute resolution mechanism is finality. Will the dispute resolution mechanism lead to a final result in a relatively short amount of time and avoid endless and expensive reviews, appeals and challenges? If a dispute can be prolonged with a seemingly endless round of challenges and reviews, this creates serious questions about the effectiveness and...
Real Estate Scams in Paradise
Years ago I saw an English language posting on Linked-In advertising the “sale” of land on Koh Chang (a Thai island) through the use of three consecutive 30 year “registered” leases for a total of 90 years. The advertisement went so far as to highlight the land’s location in a national park. When I posted a question – a simple question rather than a claim – asking how land in a...
Toyota Reports “Possible” Corrupt Activity in Thailand
Multiple media resources are reporting that Toyota “alerted the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission to possible antibribery violations involving a subsidiary in Thailand”. Those media sources include, among others, the Wall Street Journal (the quoted language is from the Wall Street Journal), Nikki Asia, Bloomberg, and Bangkok’s English newspaper, the Bangkok...
New Service Added: Work Permits and Visas
Through new additions, Analytics will now offer work permit and visa services to existing clients and parties that retain the firm for corporate formation work. Because the fees for these services will be heavily discounted (e.g., fees for work permits could be as low as several hundred dollars), these services will only be provided to parties that already engage or will engage the firm for...
Thailand Falls Another Three Places on Transparency International’s Corruption Index
Thailand ranked 104th among 180 countries surveyed, down from 101st a year earlier, with an overall score of 36 out of 100. The higher the ranking the greater the perception of corruption, and the lower the score, the higher the perception of corruption. Although there have been minor changes, Thailand’s ratings on Transparency International’s Corruptions Perceptions Index...
Airbus Corruption Probe Likely to Continue
Although the Trump administration unexpectedly imposed record fines under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), it also initiated “fewer and fewer new FCPA investigations”. The National Law Review reports that it expects the incoming Biden administration to “continue the trend of increasing FCPA enforcement settlement values, while also increasing the pace of initiating new...
Conducting Corruption Compliance Interviews Abroad – Thailand
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) investigations typically involve third parties or subsidiaries located outside the US since most FCPA violations arise out of the activities of foreign third parties or foreign subsidiaries. But most guides on how to conduct FCPA investigations and interviews seem to ignore this rather obvious fact. It has not however escaped the attention of the U.S....