Thailand or Singapore for Business?

[Crash999]

"Thanks for the alternative viewpoint - great info. Do you know if the Thai system makes it easier to start certain types of businesses? I know Thailand works hard to promote exports so I would imagine they may make it easier to start an export business rather than say, a gogo bar."

 

 

 

You're correct- the government (via the Board of Investment) looks to promote not only certain types of businesses but also the creation of businesses in certain areas of the country to increase investment in rural provinces. You can check out the BOI website (www.boi.go.th) which provides a lot of user-friendly information. They're also worth a visit if you're planning to set up a business as they'll give you preliminary information as to what sort of promotions (if any) your business would be eligible for.

 

 

 

There are also restricted industries, for which no foreigner is supposed to conduct business here- but again that all goes down to the registration of the company and having a good lawyer to help you set things up.

 

 

 

"Also, any problem getting money out of Thailand?"

 

 

 

Yes and no. There are certain restrictions on the movement of capital outside Thailand but those, to my knowledge, are mostly aimed at preventing money laundering.

 

 

 

If you plan to do this then you might want to incorporate another company in, say, the Bahamas which will be the parent holding company for the Thai subsidiary. Again a lawyer would be able to give you the best strategies, given your objectives.

 

 

 

Cheers!

[jxxxl]

Whoa, BBill, you are getting way ahead of me here.

 

 

 

"sounds like you do not need a physical residence like warehouse etc. I guess you plan to do some trading business and need the address writing the bills. I do not waste my time with philosphies on the moral background of your plans, here are the facts"

 

 

 

Buying from Thai suppliers and shipping the goods to my warehouse in the US, I can do this out of my flat. What I mean is I don't need a facility e.g., bar, factory or warehouse on this end - ever heard of 3PLs.

 

 

 

The moving money bit was just in regards as to where I may whish to keep my hard earned profits after paying all the local taxes and such.

 

 

 

Perhaps you one of the detectives you described in your post?

 

 

 

JX

[jxxxl]

Crash,

 

 

 

Really good stuff, thanks again.

 

 

 

JX

[Crash999]

"The problem is elsewhere : Thai companies if not Japanese/US or other subsidiaries, are commonly unrealistic, have no idea about market prices, do not know what service is and have no clue what's going on. "

 

 

 

My job before my present one was a government position assisting Thai companies via consulting projects and bringing in senior technical advisors in from the US. We found that the vast majority of assistance requested by Thai manufacturers were as follows:

 

 

 

- Marketing - This was the #1 help requested by far. However, as soon as one dug into the surface one realized that there were many other issues, namely cost control, production inefficiencies as well as poor design and insight into customer demands. It wasn't as simple as 'getting the word out' as many manufacturers thought.

 

 

 

- Finance - Many companies still carry operational profits but still suffer under the weight of the devaluation of the Baht and the resulting increase in foreign-denominated debt. For a while it seemed that being an NPL was better, as it allowed one to carry an operational profit seemingly without penalty for not servicing one's loans- thereby penalizing the 'good' companies who did service their debt. I think (and hope) this has since changed.

 

 

 

- Operations - This is an area where we could do some serious help to companies, by eliminating production inefficiencies (botched production scheduling, bad inventory management control, over and inefficient staffing, etc).

 

 

 

I really think a lot of the problems faced by Thai manufacturers are operational in nature but as the companies have been able to run successfully over the years, these have been masked by cheap labor and lots of eager customers. For years the answer to problems was to throw people at it. Now that China is a major player and Thai products are no longer so leading edge, a lot of inefficiencies are showing through.

 

 

 

Now I'm working on the customer side, in international trade. Believe me, I face the same frustrations you do every day when working with companies whose prices are not even close. Worse yet, they don't seem hungry for competitive information that would help them rectify the situation. Global price for a 5-piece TV Tray is US$16 and yours is US$19? Can't get any orders? See a connection there? Unfortunately that's where most companies seem to stop.

 

 

 

"Just had a party here trying to sell rubber-products ( RUBBER !!!!)to the automotive industry. A shattering experience. Prices above anything that one had ever heard of. Could continue."

 

 

 

Please do continue- it's rare to find people with whom I can discuss these issues!

 

 

 

So what was your involvement there? On the buying side or facilitating a sale? What type of rubber product was it? There's no excuse, I'll repeat there's NO EXCUSE for rubber products produced here in Thailand to be either not the most competitive or damn close. Balloons, rubber bands, latex eximation gloves, condoms are all very competitive from Thailand (in addition to Malaysia and Indonesia) because of the vast resources in terms of rubberwood here.

 

 

 

Cheers!

[Crash999]

"The moving money bit was just in regards as to where I may whish to keep my hard earned profits after paying all the local taxes and such. "

 

 

 

There are lots of options for offshore investment portfolios that can be established with no problem. There are LOTS of guys working on commission here in Thailand (I get a call every other week or so- just got cold-called today) selling front-loaded mutual funds for this purpose.

 

 

 

In fact they're so good at sniffing out folk that might be targets that you might get some emails!

 

 

 

But the basic concept is sound anyway- I like to move some money offshore just to keep a non-Thailand base of basket curriencies 'just in case'.

[buffalo_bill]

jxxxl,

 

 

 

have been asked so often in the meantime abou this tax-avoiding thing that I start to act like a tape-recording once it comes up again.

 

I am not one of these detectives but unfortunately know exactly that they exist.

 

Good luck for your plans.

 

 

 

Bbill

[Guest]

1. Singapore cost of daily operations will cost at least double plus the exchange rate comparison (about 23.5B per SGD) ie. another 2 times more cost.

 

2. If Singapore is orderly in law etc. you won't be able to escape taxes easily.

 

3. Places like Thailand and Malaysia will offer lower labour, operational costs. Not sure about Thailand, Malaysia has three islands declared as tax-free island. You could find out more. Island names are Labuan, Langkawi and Tioman.

 

 

[Guest]

"There are lots of options for offshore investment portfolios that can be established with no problem. There are LOTS of guys working on commission here in Thailand (I get a call every other week or so- just got cold-called today) selling front-loaded mutual funds for this purpose."

 

 

 

Any recommendation,perhaps from guys or companies selling no-load fund??