As part of its membership in Lex Mundi, Tilleke & Gibbins has published an updated edition of its Guide to Doing Business in Thailand for 2021. This guide outlines all of the key factors for starting and operating a business in the Thai market. Issues covered include: Investment incentives Financial facilities Exchange controls Import and export regulations Structures for doing business Requirements for the Establishment of a Business Operation of the Business Cessation or Termination of the Business Labor legislation, relations, and supply Tax Immigration requirements This publication is part of Lex Mundi’s Guides to Doing Business series prepared by member firms in more than 100 jurisdictions worldwide. The guides serve as a useful resource when planning an international business strategy or researching a new market.

Thailand’s Ministry of Interior has issued new regulations requiring owners, occupants, and operators of certain types of buildings to obtain third-party life, body, and property liability insurance. The Ministerial Regulations Prescribing the Type or Category of Buildings Which Must Apply for Legal Liability Insurance B.E. 2564 (2021) were announced in the Government Gazette on September 6, 2021, and will come into effect on November 5, 2021. The new regulations, which repeal and replace similarly titled regulations from 2005, detail third-party liability insurance rules, procedures, conditions, and minimum insurance amounts for specific building types and activities. The new regulations clearly distinguish the building use phase from the construction, modification, relocation, and demolition phases. They also add a new requirement for the owner, occupant, or operator of large buildings to apply for third party liability insurance during the construction, modification, relocation, and demolition phases. Building Construction, Modification, Relocation, and Demolition When a permit for construction, modification, relocation, or demolition is granted for a building classified as a high-rise, large, or extra-large building, the owner, occupant, or operator who obtained the permit must apply for third-party liability insurance before work begins. If work is already in progress when the regulations come into effect, the permit holders will have 30 days to apply for third party liability insurance covering the remainder of the period specified in the permit. Building Usage Owners or occupiers of public assembly buildings, hotels with more than 80 rooms, entertainment venues of 200 square meters or more, and large freestanding or building-attached signboards and support structures must also apply for third party liability insurance covering accidents related to the condition or use of the structures. Owners or occupiers have 30 days from the completion of the construction, modification, relocation, or change of use of the buildings, as the case

Lawyers from Tilleke & Gibbins’ Bangkok office have authored the Thailand chapter of the 2021 edition of Chambers & Partners Aviation Finance & Leasing Guide. John Frangos, partner and deputy director of Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution practice; Santhapat Periera, partner in the firm’s corporate and commercial department; and Nuanchun Somboonvinij, senior associate in the firm’s dispute resolution group, provided the Thailand update for the publication, which covers the most important legal developments affecting aircraft lessors, lessees, and financiers in 32 jurisdictions worldwide. The guide provides in-depth details on the legal regimes affecting all aspects of aircraft sale and purchase, aircraft and engine leasing, and aircraft debt finance, including sale and lease agreement terms; taxation; lease registration and enforcement; lease assignment/novation; insurance and reinsurance; debt structuring; securities; liens; and many others that affect the day-to-day operations of leading players in the aviation industry. Chambers and Partners’ Global Practice Guides provide in-house counsel with expert legal commentary focusing on practical legal issues affecting business, and enable readers to compare legislation and relevant procedures across a range of key jurisdictions. The full Chambers & Partners Aviation Finance & Leasing Guide—including the Thailand chapter—is available for free on the Chambers and Partners website, and the Thailand chapter be downloaded as a stand-alone PDF through the button below.

As a result of the decree, provisions relating to personal data protection, data subject rights, complaints, civil liabilities, penalties, and grandfather provisions, will now take effect on June 1, 2022.