Following detailed inspections and reports from locals, authorities have identified potential nominee businesses in tourist areas, reports the Bangkok Post.
Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, Director-General of the DBD, said the agencies will initially focus their efforts on Koh Pha-ngan and Koh Samui in Surat Thani province.
He added that they will also streamline government paperwork, which will facilitate quicker operations.
Operating businesses through nominees lets foreign entrepreneurs gain control over enterprises intended for Thai nationals, putting legitimate foreign investors at a disadvantage. The practice adversely affects Thai entrepreneurs, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, which struggle to compete in terms of capital, technology, and operating costs. If this trend continues in the long term, it could result in significant economic losses and the closure of Thai-owned businesses, according to the agencies.
Next week, the DBD will hold discussions with the Thai Bankers’ Association to review the sources of shareholders’ investment funds before the department accepts company registration applications.
Screening criteria will be discussed at a later stage, with an emphasis on balancing the effectiveness of screening measures and facilitating new company registrations for the private sector.
The DBD suspects that 34 companies in the real estate and tourism-related sectors may be operating as nominees. The department has forwarded information to the DSI for further investigation but did not disclose the nationalities of those involved or the locations of their operations.
According to the DBD, Surat Thani province has 21,717 registered limited companies, with 11,649 classified as foreign co-invested companies.
The top three foreign nationalities involved are French (20%), British (12%), and Russian (10%).
In the Koh Pha-ngan district of Surat Thani, there are 4,761 registered limited companies.
Of these, 3,213 are foreign-invested companies. Israeli shareholders account for 22%, followed by French (13%), and British (11%).
In Koh Samui district, there are 12,050 registered limited companies, 8,213 of which are foreign co-invested. The top three foreign nationalities are French (24%), British (13%), and Russian (11%).
In Phuket, there are 29,646 registered companies, including 11,626 foreign-invested companies. The top three foreign nationalities are Russian (20%), Chinese (10%), and British (10%).