A foreign-owned business may establish a presence on the Thai market in the form of a representative office for marketing and other non-transactional purposes. Setting up a representative office is easier to establish than a branch office, thus making it the simplest and fastest way for an offshore company to build a physical presence within the country. No matter if you choose to open a representative office ora branch office, our company registration agents in Thailand are at your disposal.
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Characteristics of Representative Offices in Thailand
Representative offices are the most known forms of non-trading legal entities available in Thailand. They are used by foreign investors to perform specific functions such as: management services, training, general marketing and sales promotions between the head office and the representative office and can be 100 percent owned by foreigners.
In order to open a company in Thailand, a set of requirements must be regarded. A representative office is regulated by the Thai law to engage in at least one of the following activities:
• Supply goods or services in Thailand for the overseas head office;
• Inspect and control the quality of goods purchased by the head office for manufacturing purposes in Thailand;
• Provide advice on various aspects of goods sold by its head office to its distributors and customers in Thailand;
• Supply the information concerning goods or services of the head office to the customers of Thailand;
• Report on the local business and economic development and activities to the head office.
Our company registration agents in Thailand can give you more details about the activities of a representative office.
Documentation for setting up a Representative Office in Thailand
To be able to set up a representative office in Thailand, the foreign applicant (the mother company) is firstly required to apply for a Foreign Business license (Alien Business license). To do that, the mother company must transfer a minimum working capital of 5 million baht for the representative office in Thailand and might require obtaining additional licenses.
After the process of obtaining the Foreign Business license (Alien Business license) is concluded, it is required to provide a number of documents of the mother company:
• Foreign Business license;
• Mother company’s affidavit that includes:
– Company name;
– Registration number;
– Date of registration;
– Address;
– The jurisdiction in which the company is registered.
• Articles of Incorporation or Memorandum of Association;
• Name, age, nationality, race, and address of each director and number of shares owned by each;
• Total number of shareholders, their nationalities, and number of shares owned by each national group;
• Report of company’s total capital, number of shares, and amount of capital stock.
The documents mentioned above must be notarized and certified by the local Thai consulate or embassy and they must not be more than six months old at the time of addressing to the Commercial Registrar. To be able to prepare your documents, complete the legal process of registering your representative office in Thailand and apply for the Foreign Business license, you will need the help of a Thailand company formation expert.
For more comprehensive information regarding the process of setting up a representative office, please contact our Thai company formation consultants for support.