Proposed Shifts in Foreign Business License Exemptions for Selected Industries

The Department of Business Development, Ministry of Commerce, conducted a public hearing for a draft Ministerial Regulation on Types of Foreign Business that Do Not Require Permission before Operating (“Ministerial Regulation”). The draft Ministerial Regulation is currently undergoing the process of summarizing the results of such hearing. After this process, the draft Ministerial Regulation will be presented to the Cabinet for its consideration.

The draft Ministerial Regulation proposes for removal of 9 types of business from List 3 of the Foreign Business Act B.E.2542 (1999) in which the foreigners do not need to obtain a Foreign Business License (“FBL”) before operating these businesses. Such 9 types of business are as follows:

1. Telecommunication service businesses under the first type of telecommunication business license according to the laws related to telecommunication businesses.  
2. Treasury Center services businesses under laws regarding exchange control.
3. Software development business.
4. Service businesses for administrative, human resources, and technological management for affiliated companies.
5. Debt guarantee service businesses, only within the country, for affiliated companies.
6. Partial space rental businesses for installing electronic devices used in financial services, vending machines, or automatic services to facilitate the company’semployees.
7. Petroleum exploration service businesses.
8. Various forms of lending businesses with securities under the securities and exchange laws, as well as the derivatives laws.
9. Service businesses as brokers, dealers, advisors, or fund managers for the derivatives contract that its goods and variables are not subject to the Derivatives Act B.E. 2546 (2003).

The significant reasons for exempting foreigners from their requirement to obtain the FBL for the aforementioned businesses include reducing redundancy as some businesses are regulated by specific laws, reducing costs for business operators, no negative effects on the competitiveness of Thai entrepreneurs in the domestic market, aligning with national business development policy, fostering knowledge and labor development, facilitating technology transfer to Thailand, enhancing the operational efficiency of affiliated companies and promoting competition in quality of services.

Author: Panisa Suwanmatajarn, Managing Partner.

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