Signal Thailand Implements New Business Registration Checks to Curb Nominee Arrangements

Summary

Thailand's Department of Business Development (DBD) implemented new rules to prevent nominee shareholding arrangements, effective August 1, 2026, under Order No. 2/2026, The Nation Thailand reported. Where a foreign national is a co-investor or holds signing authority, applicants must now submit an investment explanation letter and three months of bank statements for both the Thai investors who paid capital and the representative or entity receiving those payments, enabling officials to examine actual investment capacity. The scrutiny extends across the business lifecycle, from incorporation through subsequent registration of shareholder or director structure changes, to prevent later circumvention. Among companies subject to inspection are 119,116 firms where foreign investors hold between 0.01% and 49.99% equity, classified as nominee-risk entities that retain Thai juristic-person status. The measure is intended to strengthen safeguards against arrangements in which Thai nationals act as concealed proxies for foreign owners, allowing businesses to operate while evading foreign ownership restrictions.