Tilleke & Gibbins has contributed the Thailand chapter to the 2024 edition of Pharmaceutical Advertising from the International Comparative Legal Guides (ICLG) series published by Global Legal Group. This detailed guide offers an in-depth examination of pharmaceutical advertising laws and regulations in multiple jurisdictions around the globe. Each chapter of the guide, structured in a Q&A format, is organized into comprehensive sections covering various aspects of pharmaceutical advertising, including: General rules and codes of practice governing pharmaceutical advertising Required arrangements for ensuring compliance with advertising regulations Procedures for obtaining advertising approvals from regulatory authorities Penalties for non-compliance with advertising rules Guidelines for providing information prior to product authorization Requirements for advertisements directed at healthcare professionals Restrictions on the content of pharmaceutical advertisements The complete Thailand chapter is available as a PDF below. The Thailand chapter—and the full Pharmaceutical Advertising guide—are also freely available on the ICLG website.

On June 28, 2024, Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) updated its list of promoted activities to include data hosting, which is listed as “Activity 8.2.4 Data Hosting Services.” Qualifying data hosting services are eligible for a corporate income tax exemption (capped) for eight years, along with other tax and nontax incentives, such as import duty exemption on imported machinery to be used in the project, the right for foreigners to own land, and work permit and visa facilitation for expats, among others. To be eligible for these BOI incentives, projects must: Provide services for leasing host servers for data storage (data hosting); Have at least two data centers located in Thailand that meet or exceed the ISO/IEC 27001 data center standards; and Have an investment amount (excluding cost of land and working capital) of at least THB 5 billion. Apart from the above specific criteria, projects also need to comply with the general BOI criteria, such as a debt-to-equity ratio no higher than 3:1, submission of a feasibility study report, and use of new machinery, among others. For more details on BOI incentives for software and data center activities, or on any aspect of investment promotion in Thailand, please contact Athistha (Nop) Chitranukroh at [email protected], Nopparat Lalitkomon at [email protected], or Napassorn Lertussavavivat at [email protected].

On July 18. 2024, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health issued Circular No. 12/2024/TT-BYT promulgating National Technical Regulation QCVN 20-1:2024/BYT on the limits of contaminants for health supplements (“Circular 12”). The new national technical regulation is the very first relating to health supplements, and is expected to have a great impact on the control of health supplement quality in Vietnam. Circular 12 will take effect on August 1, 2025. Contents of Circular 12 The new circular prescribes limits of contaminants (heavy metals and microorganisms), testing samples and testing methods, management requirements, and responsibilities of entities manufacturing and trading in health supplements. Supplemented alcohol products which are declared as health supplements are notably excluded from the scope of the regulation. Transitional Provisions Health supplements which (i) have been granted a declaration registration certificate, and (ii) are manufactured before August 1, 2025, are allowed to continue to be imported, traded, and circulated until the expiry date of the product, even if it is not aligned with Circular 12, except when there is food safety warning. Declaration registration dossiers for health supplements submitted before August 1, 2025, will continue to be handled in accordance with the prevailing regulations at the time of submission. From August 1, 2025, if a health supplement with a granted declaration registration certificate has a manufacturer’s standard that does not comply with Circular 12, the party manufacturing/trading in the product must adjust the product standard to conform to Circular 12 and notify the authority of this adjustment.

Thailand’s Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) recently opened a public hearing on draft notifications regarding criteria, procedures, and conditions for naming life and non-life insurance brokerage businesses. The draft notifications aim to establish guidelines for naming and describing such brokerages. Key Principles Licensed insurance brokers must use “life insurance” or “non-life insurance” in their business name. When establishing an office, brokers must display a visible nameplate at the office front, starting out with the Thai words for “life insurance broker office” or “non-life insurance broker office” and the broker’s name; any signs indicating the office location must adhere to these same naming conventions. Inside, offices must display the insurance broker’s license and the power-of-attorney for receiving insurance premiums at the office. Noncompliance with these key principles may result in the OIC taking corrective action. Outlook After the draft notifications pass the public hearing stage, which closes on July 19, 2024, the OIC will consider the feedback and finalize the notifications. The duration of this process depends on the complexity of the notification and the public feedback. Normally, each notification takes at least 3–6 months before issuance. For more details on the OIC’s draft notifications or on any issue concerning insurance regulations in Thailand, please contact Athistha (Nop) Chitranukroh at [email protected], Witchupong Chittchang at [email protected], Ajaree Trachukul at [email protected], Thammapas Chanpanich at [email protected], or Sireethorn Wijan at [email protected].