Even if you have heard about the US-Thai Treaty of Amity, there are possibilities that you may not know 100% about its legal nitty-gritty. While you may know that it was signed on May 29, 1966 to grant special rights to the US citizens who want to establish their businesses in Thailand, there are few activities that are restricted for the American investors. They are;
- Transportation;
- Land ownership; Exploitation of land;
- Communications;
- Fiduciary functions;
- Banking involving depository functions;
- Domestic trade in indigenous agricultural products;
- Transportation; and
- Other natural resources;
Even though, the treaty-protected businesses are given advantages under the US-Thai Amity Treaty, they must still cater to the minimum capital requirement stated in the Foreign Business Act (FBA). If the business is not restricted under the FBA, then the minimum capital requirement should be THB 2 million.
But, if your business needs to obtain a FBA license, then the minimum capital requirement must be THB 3 million for business activity. Below mentioned is information on how can you register a company under the US-Thai Treaty of Amity;
Stage 1:
Document filing. You must obtain all the documents to verify that your company has been registered complying with the Thai laws.
Stage 2:
Documents must be certified by the CS. Upon obtaining the preceding required documents, the CS will provide certification to the Thai Department of Commercial Registration in the Ministry of Commerce, confirming that the applying organization is American owned and is thus eligible to national treatment under the Treaty of Amity provision.
Stage 3:
Applying at the Ministry of Commerce. Soon after certification by the CS, copies of the above-mentioned document s alongside duly filled application forms, obtained from the Department of Registration in the Thai Ministry of Commerce should be given to the Thai Department of Commercial Registration in the Ministry of Commerce to completely register under the US-Thai Treaty of Amity.
This entire procedure will normally take 4 to 6 weeks for completion.
So, which are the two major advantages you can gain from the Treaty of Amity;
- Allows the American companies to hold the majority of the shares of the branch or representative office situated in Thailand;
- American organizations may engage in businesses similar to the Thais and they are exempted from the majority of the limitations of foreign investment initiated by the Alien Business Law of 1972.
