On November 23, 2021, Thailand’s cabinet approved in principle the amended Ministerial Regulation No. 13 issued under the Exchange Control Act, B.E. 2485 (1942), as amended (ECA). The ECA is an integral instrument of the Bank of Thailand (BOT) for regulating businesses relating to foreign means of payment (i.e., foreign exchange business) and controlling inward and outward remittances as well as exchange and conversion between Thai baht and foreign currencies. Under the current ECA, no party may purchase, sell, lend, exchange, or transfer foreign currencies except for authorized juristic persons (bank and non-bank entities) or authorized individuals who are licensed by the Ministry of Finance. The major amendments to Ministerial Regulation No. 13 of the ECA introduce a number of changes to the current regulations for foreign exchange business operations: Expansion of the scope of foreign exchange business The scope of a foreign exchange business is currently limited to purchasing, selling, lending, and exchanging foreign currency in the form of banknotes, coins, and travelers’ cheques (i.e., banknotes-to-banknotes conversion only). The new amendments will expand the scope of foreign exchange business to include more foreign currency payment types. For instance, foreign travelers will be able to use credit or debit cards issued by a foreign commercial bank to exchange for cash (i.e., card-to-banknotes conversion). Additional modes of authorizing foreign exchange businesses Licensing is currently the only mode of authorization for a foreign exchange business in Thailand. Under the amended regulations, there will be two options for authorization: licensing or registration. While the exact requirements and definition of “registration” will become clearer after the actual amended regulation and any subordinate legislation become available, this indication of an additional mode of authorization may imply varying requirements and burdens in the application process. Allowance of a foreign exchange business license to cover all

Attorneys from Tilleke & Gibbins have provided the latest update to the Thailand contribution to Doing Business in…, a Q&A-style guide published by Thomson Reuters Practical Law that presents an overview of the legal framework for doing business in 63 jurisdictions worldwide. The Thailand chapter of the guide outlines Thailand’s legal system and key laws applicable to foreign companies doing business in the country. The chapter specifically covers the following main topics: Legal system: Thailand’s court system and codified legal system. Foreign investment: Lists of reserved business activities, restrictions on doing business with certain jurisdictions, exchange controls and currency regulations, and grants and incentives available to investors. Business vehicles: Ordinary partnerships, registered ordinary partnerships, limited partnerships, private limited companies, and public companies. Environment: Main laws and regulations, factory operation. Employment: Laws, employment contract requirements, work permits, and termination and redundancy. Tax: Taxes on employment, tax and nontax resident employees and businesses, corporate income tax, value added tax, special business tax, municipal tax, stamp duty, dividends, interest, intellectual property royalties. Competition: Important aspects of Thailand’s regulatory regime surrounding competition, centered around the updated Trade Competition Act. Antibribery and corruption: Laws, compliance requirements, regulatory authority. Intellectual property: Patents, trademarks, registered and unregistered designs, and copyright. Marketing agreements and advertising: Regulation of marketing agreements, Thailand’s Consumer Protection Act, direct marketing, role of the Consumer Protection Board and Food and Drug Administration. E-commerce: E-commerce laws and regulations, marketing and sales via online platforms. Data protection: An outline of Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act. Product liability: Procedures and regulations for product liability and product safety, including the Unsafe Goods Liability Act and the Consumer Case Procedure Act. Product liability: Key regulatory authorities for trade competition, environmental issues, and financial services. To browse, download, or print the Thailand chapter, please visit the Practical Law website.

Michael Ramirez, a counsel in Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution group in Bangkok, has updated the firm’s contribution to the Global Attorney-Client Privilege Guide, published by Lex Mundi. The newly expanded guide provides information on what constitutes attorney-client privilege in over 70 countries around the world. The Thailand section of the guide contains in-depth information on the function and applications of attorney-client privilege in Thailand (or, as explained in the guide, an equivalent concept enshrined in Thai law), including coverage of the following topics: Privilege in corporations Common interest doctrine Litigation funding Crime-fraud exception Work product doctrine/litigation privilege Other privileges including mediation, accountant-client and settlement negotiation The interactive guide features expert contributions by Lex Mundi member firms from jurisdictions worldwide. Readers can browse the contributions, generate country-specific reports, and compare attorney-client privilege in multiple jurisdictions. For more information, please visit the Lex Mundi website.

On September 9, 2021, Laos announced a new pilot program to allow the mining and trading of cryptocurrency. Notification No. 1158, issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, provides for an electricity sale-purchase agreement with six companies involved in the pilot program. Under the notification, the six companies authorized by the prime minister to mine and trade cryptocurrency in Laos will pay a capped fee for energy they use in data processing or mining cryptocurrency. This effectively establishes a sandbox in which these six companies may mine and trade cryptocurrency—including on international cryptocurrency exchanges. The Ministry of Technology and Communications (MTC) is in charge of coordinating the program, together with the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of the Lao PDR, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Energy and Mines, the Ministry of Public Security, and Électricité du Laos. The MTC is also charged with drafting the rules of the pilot program and setting the conditions on which the participating companies can mine, sell, and purchase cryptocurrency in Laos. One of the six selected companies will also act as a coordinator for the other companies and report to the government on any benefits of cryptocurrency observed during the pilot program. The next step is for the MTC to compile data analysis from each of the other government agencies and submit the conclusions to a meeting of the prime minister and the deputy prime ministers before the pilot program is implemented. The pilot program was originally scheduled to start in September, but there has not yet been any update on the implementation of the program, which nonetheless is expected to start in the near future.