The Board of Investment company in Thailand gives an expat the advantage of owning a company 100%. Registering your business under the BOI you can safeguard against the Thai promoters. Before you jump into any conclusion you must check the BOI activity list to know whether you are eligible for registration. Once you are aware about that, read on to know about the BOI specifies criteria for project approval.
- The value added of the project should not be lesser than twenty percent of revenues, other than the projects related to agriculture, electronic products and parts plus coil centers
- Production process must be modern
- New machinery must be put in use
- Projects with a minimum investment capital of 10 million baht must get ISO 9000 or ISO 14000 certification
- For concession on project and privatization of state enterprise project, the criteria shall be solely based on the decisions of the Cabinet dated May 25 1998, as well as November 30, 2004.
- The Board is willing to grant special consideration to pollution treatment of a project, having potential environmental impact.
- Projects that are required to submit environmental impact assessment report must comply with related Cabinet resolutions and environmental laws.
- Projects that are situated in Rayong must abide by the Office of the BOI Announcement No. Por 1/2554 dated May 2, 2011.
- The minimum capital investment requirement for every project is 1 million baht. This excludes land and working capital costs.
- The debt-to-equity ratio for new projects must not be more than 3:1.
- Project feasibility study must be submitted by the projects, having an investment value of more than 750 million baht.
Please note there is also a foreign shareholding criterion that has been mentioned below for your ease of doing business;
- Thais must hold shares that total to not lesser than 51% of the registered capital (for business activities under List one)
- There are no restrictions on equity for foreign investors (business activities under List two and three)
- The Board of Investment can impose some foreign shareholding limits for a few activities that are eligible for investment promotion if deemed appropriate
Now that you know your eligibility, it is suggested to speak to a legal advisor to start your business in Thailand as soon as possible.
