Do you rent, own or are buying a house in HH?

[lomuamart]

I hope they dont ever relax the laws too much.Thailand has done well to maintain its cultural integrity.

I agree with your first sentiment but not the one above.

If Thailand is ever going to move out of the dark ages and compete economically with its Asian neigbbours (Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan) it has to stop being so xenophobic and open its doors to foreign investment, and yes, that includes land.

On a more personal note, would you be happy living, working and paying taxes in a country year after year and still not being allowed to legally settle there and buy yourself a small plot of land to live on without giving an obscene amout of money to their fascist government? (and before anybody jumps on me I know I can form a company or put it in the mrs name but that wasn't my point - if we have given to the country we deserve a little back IMO).

buks,
i'm not in agreement with you on this.
multi-nationals have no pompem investing and are welcomed, including buying land for factories, hotels etc. they aren't holding back their investments.
thailand needs to remake its education system if its going to compete with the others in any realistic fashion beyond cheap labour costs.

Are you sure about that? As an aside, my father looked at setting up a manufacturing outlet in Thailand years ago. He and his directors opted for Indonesia that is always ridiculed as being more corrupt than here.
Rubbish. The only losers were the Thai folk. He could and still cannot understand my decision to move to Thailand.
His was a big business decision that affected the lives of thousands of people both in the UK and abroad.
Thailand accepting foreign investment? Sure, if the companies are stupid enough to listen to the speil.
Rant over.

[Norseman]

In order to balance it all, and to give Thai investments a chance, here is what the official Thailand has to say about this subject:

“Many foreign investors have seen the Thai economy grow steadily in the past five years and continue to see the economic fundamentals as very strong. So, they are still enthusiastic about becoming partners with local companies," the foreign minister said.

They also remained confident that the Thai economy would continue to expand and were ready to participate in the structural development of Thai society.

"The image of caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra remains good in the eyes for the investors. No one mentions morality. What they are interested is the growth potential of the economy and policies of the post-election government," the foreign minister said.

(It must be added that the investments they refer to is about Thailand's modernisation programme and the implementation of its plans for major infrastructure development in the multi-billions class).

[lomuamart]

That's all well and good, Norseman. But it's political rhetoric. Sure, many foreign firms want to do business with "local" partners, but when the foreigners can't agree with the Government officials as to numbers of locals employed and their wages (and here, don't think I'm referring to sweatshop type labour. The conditions offered for workers are quite often much better than a Thai employer would offer, but are refused as it upsets the minimum wage) the ground's rocky at the start.
Add into this ridiculous tax penalties for foreign owned companies and the potential difficulties of even getting the money out of the country and, at least I, start to realise why foreign investment goes elsewhere.
Other countries are much more accommodating and appreciate that their own people and local economies will benefit.
Just my view. And I didn't mention backhanders which are rife wherever you go in Asia.

[Norseman]

Hi lomu.
This is the official expressions of opinion!!
I would personally never invest more money in Thailand than I can afford to loose. To invest here is like stepping out in a minefield.
No guarantees, you'll probably have to spend 10Bt to make 1 lousy Bt.

Another point is the international funding and co-operation mentioned in my post above. That's more like rice for roads investment.

[lomuamart]

We're agreed. Political rhetoric as I said. Never thought they were your opinions!!

[Mr Jame!]

Theres so much land around, do as the thais do and just build a wooden house somewhere quiet. If you get asked to move in a couple of years, what the hell! and remember to train the kids early to do all the housework.

[philip]

So, mein kamaraden, if legally you can't buy, or can't set-up a legit "holding company", the only remaining options are # to rent, or #to purchase a long-leasehold interest by payment of a single initial "premium" (ie rent x number of years under the proposed lease). Let's say you wanted a 10 year lease of a nice property whose market rental value is 25,000 baht per month, that's 300,000 baht per annum x 10 = 3,000,000 baht (roughly 45,000 GBP). Does that represent a sensible price to you guys ? In sterling, it's 375 quid a month, which seems cheap to me, given that you have security of tenure for ten years WITHIN THE LAW.

This option is to all intents and purposes as good as a freehold, although ultimately the lease is a diminishing asset. If you make the lease long enough, it could just be the ideal way through the thai property minefield though.......

[philip]

See excellent summary in HH Observer issue March 2006 no 123 on Property Ownership. All pretty clear, if you're a Philadelphia Lawyer !

P