Thailand board of investment at your service

If you wish to set up an operation in Thailand, your best contact point is the Office of the Board of Investment (BOI), which operates under the Ministry of Industry and is the principal government agency for encouraging investment. The BOI is available to assist you in numerous ways,including:

Enhancing Competitiveness and Investment Facilitation

• Offers an attractive and competitive package of tax incentives.
• Imposes no foreign equity restrictions on manufacturing activities or on some service.
• Provide assistance in the provision of visas and work permits to facilitate entry and subsequent operation for a foreign-owned business.
• Waives restrictions on land ownership by foreign entities.

Business Support Services

• Provides comprehensive information and advice on establishing operations in Thailand.
  
• Arranges site visits.
• Identifies potential suppliers, subcontractors, joint-venture partners.
  
• Provides useful contacts with key public and private organizations.
• Coordinates between the foreign business community and other public agencies
  

The BOI also acts as Thailand's marketing arm and actively promotes the country worldwide as one of the best investment locations in Asia.

The BOI is tasked with devising and implementing strategies under which promotional activities are organized around the globe throughout the year.

The BOI's seven overseas offices (Tokyo, Osaka, Shanghai, Frankfurt, Paris, Los Angeles and New York) serve as Thailand's front desks in liaising with potential investors.

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The BOI Unit for industrial Linkage Development (BUILD)

The services page also explains the BOI Unit for Industrial Linkage Development (BUILD) program, which encourages supporting industries in Thailand by providing information about sourcing and subcontracting opportunities, the Investor Club Association, a private organization which further serves the needs of the investment community, and the BOI's efforts to support outbound investment by Thai businessmen.

• The Setting Up A Business in Thailand link provides an overview of establishing a business and provides links to pages that will help you make an informed decision.
• The Organizational Chart provides information about the divisions of the BOI, with contact information for each one.
• The Procedures for Obtaining Promotional Privileges page walks you through the application process of applying for BOI promotional privileges - from the time an application is submitted to the time a business starts operation.
• The BOI statistics page provides information about the amount of investment, both from within and outside Thailand. The data is displayed in a variety of ways, including by country of origin, and conditions, such as export-orientation or size of project.
• There is a download page that provides one location for you to visit and download any of the information referred to in the BOI Home Page.
• If you would like to put a link to the BOI web site on your own web site, the Promote the BOI Web Site page shows you how to add BOI links and banners to your site.

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In addition to the guarantees, permissions and fiscal and non-tax incentives the BOI offers as part of its investment promotion package, there are two units under the BOI that facilitate investment by speeding up the paperwork associated with government regulations.

One Stop Center For Visas And Work Permits

The BOI coordinated the establishment of a One-Stop Service Center for Visas and Work Permits. The center can process applications or renewals of visas and work permits within three hours, assuming all required documents are provided. In addition, the center handles many other transactions, including changing visa status (to non-immigrant status from tourist or transit), payment of fines, and processing of re-entry stamps, all within three hours or less.

Investors or experts granted privileges under the Investment Promotion Act of 1977 who are allowed to stay in the Kingdom of Thailand on a temporary basis to undertake investment or business activities can also have access to the services provided by the One-Stop Center.

One Start One Stop Investment Center (OSOS)

To make the process of opening a business easier and to provide a central source of information regarding business operations, the Thai government assigned the Board of Investment to bring investment-related agencies under one roof.

The OSOS, which is located downtown, adjacent to a subway station, has staff from almost two dozen agencies available to help investors with various applications to make sure investors understand what is needed to register a company, obtain investment promotion privileges, obtain a foreign business license, complete an environmental impact assessment, request permission to use land for industrial operations, obtain utilities, etc.

In addition to assisting investors with procedural matters, staff from the various agencies are available to consult with investors on a range of topics. What this means is that if an investor has a question that requires an interpretation from more than one agency, rather than having to go from office to office in search of answers, the matter can be addressed by the various experts at the OSOS.

The bottom line is that the OSOS helps investors by cutting through red tape and allows the government to be more responsive to investor needs.

Both the One Stop Center for Visas and Work Permits and the OSOS are located on the 18th Floor, Chamchuri Square Building, Phayathai Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330.