Real Estate
General facts about Property law and real estate legal matters for foreigners in Thailand
Land Holding and Nominee Hunt
More documents sought in nominee hunt
Source: Bangkok Post February 15, 2007
Inspections of land holdings by companies suspected to be foreign-owned must await documentation from the Business Development Department, according to the Lands Department. Sub Lt Khantachai Vichakkhana, the deputy director-general of the Lands Department, said it was the responsibility of the Commerce Ministry unit to determine the nationality of companies and whether illegal shareholding structures were used.
Thai law sharply restricts foreign ownership of land. Corporate entities doing so must be majority controlled by Thais. But nominee structures are commonly used to bypass the law, particularly in tourist areas such as Phuket and Pattaya.
Documents Thai Nominee Shareholder
The Thailand property law website: Thai nominees
Opinion: SamuiForSale.com - February 15 2007
In the latest article in the Bangkok Post (February 15) - ' More documents sought in nominee hunt' (read Bangkok Post article), - sub Lt Khantachai Vichakkhana, the deputy director-general of the Lands Department, said it was the responsibility of the Commerce Ministry unit to determine the nationality of companies and whether illegal shareholding structures were used. In the same article Mr. Kanissorn Navanugraha, the director-general of the Department of Business Development (DBD), said the Land Department was empowered to investigate on its own whether a foreign entity used nominees.
Land Scams Samui
New land scam stopped in time
Source: Samui Express February 9 2007
New Landscam stopped in time. Conspirator tells of illegal scheme
A new landscam in the making has been nipped in the bud after the arrest of a man who spilled the beans on a public-land encroachment allegedly with the backing of some public officials.
In his report submitted to Koh Samui Police deputy superintendent Lt. Col. Aphinan Kosalvit on Jan. 30, Somporn Phetthongkliang, chief of the Forest Protection Operation Office (southern region), claimed that a forest area covering 45 rai (7.2 hectares) at Khao Pom Moo 5 Lipa Noi sub district has been encroached on and that a 1300-meter-long road measuring eight meters wide had been built on it. Somporn urged police authorities to take action against those responsible for the encroachment on the public land, which is part of the protected forest cover.
Registered Land Value
Land valuations set by the Treasury Department and the Land Department
Source: Bangkok Post (February 10 2007)
Land values to be based on market
Treasury Department starts new survey
New land valuations to be announced starting next year will be based on market price data as well as projections of economic growth and inflation rates. The goal is to ensure that values represent as closely as possible actual market conditions, according to Amnuay Preemanawong, the deputy director-general of the Treasury Department.
Thai Holding Companies | Foreigners warned on land
Foreigners warned on land ownership inThailand
Source: Samuiforsale - Opinion (January 2007), following a Bangkokpost article dated January 29 2007
Holding companies and Thai nominee shareholders
Foreign investors holding property through shell companies using Thai nominees have been warned to restructure their holdings or face prosecution. The Commerce Minister Krirk-krai Jirapaet told foreign journalists at a dinner talk on Friday: 'Foreigners using shell companies to buy housing across the country are violating two laws. One, the Land Act that forbids foreigners from holding land and two, the Foreign Business Act by using nominee structures. I recommend that they restructure'.
Read more: Thai Holding Companies | Foreigners warned on land
