BANGKOK, 19 July 2012 – The Commerce Ministry is set to launch an inspection on foreign shareholding in the country within a month’s time.
The Department of Business Development Director-General Banyong Limprayoonwong said that the Commerce Ministry has been drafting a set of regulations on the management and the inspection of foreign shareholding in Thai companies, in a bid to more strongly enforce the Alien Business Law of Thailand.
Mr. Banyong conceded that the Ministry’s probe into suspicious foreign shareholdings has been limited and lacked depth.
Such flaws have made it less effective to take legal actions against those who have broken the laws, said the Department of Business Development Director-General.
He added that the Department is set to make the term “Nominee” more definite and clarified, while looking more thoroughly at the amount of shares held, the influence of foreign shareholders and other policies of the company.
According to Mr. Banyong, there are more than 27,000 companies with foreign shareholdings, all of which will be scrutinized by the Department of Business Development.
He stated that any company found to be in violation of the laws will face further investigation by the Department of Special Investigation.
