Attorneys from Tilleke & Gibbins have updated the latest edition of Doing Business in Thailand, a Q&A-style guide from Thomson Reuters Practical Law that offers an overview of key legal considerations for companies operating in jurisdictions worldwide. The contribution outlines the country’s legal and regulatory framework for foreign investment and business operations and reflects the latest legislative developments. The chapter addresses the following core topics: Legal system: Structure of the courts and the codified nature of Thai law. Foreign investment: Business restrictions under the Foreign Business Act, sector-specific regulations, exchange control rules, and investment incentives. Business vehicles: Overview of partnerships, private and public limited companies, and other legal entities. Employment: Labor protections, employment contracts, foreign worker requirements, and termination procedures. Tax: Corporate and personal income tax, indirect taxes, and tax obligations for residents and non-residents. Intellectual property: Registration and enforcement of patents, trademarks, designs, and copyrights. Data protection: Key provisions of the Personal Data Protection Act and related compliance obligations. Competition law: Regulatory framework under the Trade Competition Act. Anti-bribery and corruption: Relevant legislation and enforcement mechanisms. E-commerce and digital business: Legal regime for online transactions and digital platforms. Marketing and advertising: Consumer protection laws and regulations affecting advertising and marketing practices. Product regulation and liability: Safety standards, liability regimes, and roles of enforcement authorities. Practical Law, a legal reference resource from Thomson Reuters, publishes a range of guides for hundreds of jurisdictions and practice areas. The insurance and reinsurance guide is a valuable resource for legal practitioners, covering numerous jurisdictions worldwide. To view the latest version of the guide, please visit the Practical Law website and enroll in the free Practical Law trial to gain full access.

With a favorable crypto climate from the Trump administration in the United States, Thailand is ready for digital asset platforms and has market appetite. This article highlights the country’s regulatory initiatives supporting the growth of digital assets like crypto, stablecoins, and smart contracts, along with efforts to establish clear oversight. Bank of Thailand Sandbox Stablecoins used as a medium of payment, particularly those pegged to the Thai baht (THB) for public use, are considered as mirroring fiat currency, which violates the Currency Act B.E. 2501 (1958). These can also be classified as e-money under the Payment Systems Act B.E. 2560 (2017). The Bank of Thailand (BOT) urges issuers to engage in preconsultation prior to implementation, due to concerns about stablecoins being used in place of THB currency. Other FX- or asset-backed stablecoins are not recognized as legal tender under Thai law, and users must bear their own risks. The BOT recognizes the potential and benefits of these technologies in reducing operational costs for financial service providers and addressing the needs of financial service users. Consequently, the BOT issued a sandbox framework in June 2024. In particular, the enhanced regulatory sandbox allows nonlicensed entities to test financial innovations in controlled conditions. These tests must have a clearly defined duration (usually under one year) and involve a limited user group with an exit strategy. Several programmable payment projects—automated transactions with predefined conditions for the payment of goods and services—were piloted under this sandbox, which closed for applications in September 2024. Eight participants are planning to launch their test runs this year, some of which include asset tokenization or exchange global stablecoins in their programmable payment projects. Thai Securities and Exchange Commission Sandbox Given that digital asset businesses fall under the Royal Decree on Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561 (2018), supervised by

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) is accepting public comments until May 2, 2025, on three draft notifications that will institute an enhanced supervision scheme and impose additional requirements for systemically important retail payment system (SIRPS) operators to align with international standards and encourage open infrastructure and competition. The SIRPS operators will be determined by the BOT from the “designated payment system operators” under the Payment Systems Act B.E. 2560 (2017). SIRPS Designation The BOT will announce a list of payment system operators designated as SIRPS operators and thus subject to enhanced supervision. The BOT will evaluate whether the payment system operator should be deemed a SIRPS operator when it meets the criteria in either the BOT’s quantitative or qualitative assessments, which cover the following: Quantitative assessment: The payment system’s transaction values, market share, cross-border payment network scale and value, and settlement with other financial market infrastructure. Qualitative assessment: The payment system’s function as a part of the country’s payment system infrastructure, the significance of the system users’ roles in the payment services, the substitutability of the payment system, and the impact level on the public and users in the event of an emergency or system suspension. Supervision of SIRPS Business Operations SIRPS operators will be subject to heightened supervision in three areas, in addition to various BOT regulations on designated payment system supervision, as follows: Governance: SIRPS operators will be required to have a balanced board composition with an independent director and directors with varied expertise, establish subcommittees to assist the board in supervising the operator’s compliance with its policy and strategy, and have senior executives overseeing risk and technology security separately from the executives overseeing business operations. Risk management and security: SIRPS operators will be required to have comprehensive risk management to ensure system stability and security. This

虽然泰国《外商经营企业法》（B.E. 2542（1999年））（简称“FBA”）已施行逾二十年，但名义股东安排的问题仍然是一个备受关注的话题，尤其是在泰国当局持续打击利用泰国国民作为名义股东，以规避FBA项下外资持股限制的企业行为的背景下。 FBA 的制定旨在限制外国方（包括外国个人、海外注册的法人实体，以及由外国人控股的泰国公司）在未经许可的情况下在泰国从事特定商业活动的能力。由于该法律限制，不少企业经营者选择通过名义股东的方式来运营其在泰国的业务。 与许多其他国家类似，名义股东安排在泰国是非法的。FBA 明确禁止外国人通过泰国国民代为持股，从而实质性拥有并经营法律所保留的业务。参与此类安排（包括在未取得FBA规定的必要许可的情况下经营业务）可能会面临严厉处罚，包括监禁、罚款，甚至强制解散公司。泰国当局，特别是商务部和特别调查局（DSI），持续积极调查涉及名义股东安排的可疑案件。 FBA 将外商经营的业务活动分为三类清单，每一类均设有不同程度的外资参与和持股限制： 第一类清单（List 1）：外国人严禁从事第一类清单中列明的任何业务活动，例如媒体（包括报纸、广播和电视）、稻米种植、林业、泰国传统药草采集，以及土地交易等。 第二类清单（List 2）：外国人如欲经营第二类清单所列业务，须向商业发展厅（Department of Business Development, DBD）申请《外商经营许可证》（Foreign Business License, FBL），并获得泰国内阁批准。此外，公司泰国股东的持股比例不得低于40%（经商务部长及内阁特别批准者可降至25%），董事会成员中至少须有五分之二为泰国国籍人士。此类清单涵盖涉及国家安全的业务（如武器贸易和国内航空），对泰国艺术、文化、传统和手工艺造成影响的业务，以及可能影响自然资源或环境的业务。 第三类清单（List 3）：外国人如欲从事第三类清单所列业务，亦需向 DBD 申请 FBL，但审批程序相较第二类清单更为宽松，由外商经营委员会（Foreign Business Committee）负责审批。第三类清单涉及目前泰国人尚未具备充分竞争能力的业务，包括广泛的服务类业务。此外，该清单还包括“其他服务业务”，该项为兜底条款，实质上将各类服务性业务纳入受限范畴。 对于希望在泰国开展业务的外国企业而言，申请《外商经营许可证》（FBL）并非唯一合法且可持续的选项。外商还可通过特定法律途径取得经营资格，例如依据《泰美友好与经济关系条约》（Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations between the United States and Thailand）获得保护，或根据《投资促进法》、《泰国工业园管理局法》及其他相关法律申请许可。尽管这些途径在程序上可能较为复杂，但它们为外资企业提供了安全、合法的经营基础，有助于实现长期稳定的业务发展。 鉴于近期泰国当局对名义股东安排的监管力度日益加强，外商在泰投资设立企业时，应更加审慎地选择其商业架构，确保取得适当的许可，并严格遵守外资持股限制的相关法律规定。通过合法合规地运用现有法律框架中的各类途径，外资企业可为其在泰国的新设业务奠定坚实基础，助力业务的稳健发展与长远成功。