Our Practice
A Practice Built Around
One Question
How should a foreign enterprise establish itself in Thailand — legally, durably, and with a clear understanding of what its structure permits and what it does not?
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How chakricoas Came to Be
chakricoas was established in Bangkok in 2011 by lawyers who had spent a decade working within larger practices on cross-border investment matters — and who found that foreign clients often received advice designed for a different kind of engagement than the one they actually needed.
The investors arriving in Thailand were typically not looking for a retainer relationship or general commercial counsel. They had a specific decision in front of them: whether a particular activity required a Foreign Business License, whether their project qualified for BOI promotion, or how a proposed holding structure would interact with Thailand's tax treaty network. They wanted that question answered well, in writing, with the legal basis stated.
The firm was structured accordingly. Each service has a defined scope and a fixed fee. The advice is delivered as a written memorandum or formal application, not as a meeting note. The relationship is as long as the matter requires — sometimes a single memorandum, sometimes a two-year BOI promotion cycle — and the client is never in doubt about what has been agreed.
Over fourteen years, the practice has advised investors from more than thirty home jurisdictions on BOI applications across manufacturing, technology, and service sectors, Foreign Business License and Foreign Business Certificate matters, and holding structure analysis for Thai operating companies. The work is narrow and deliberate — which is, in our experience, what investors making long-term commitments to Thailand actually need.
By the Numbers
14+
Years of practice in Thai foreign investment law
30+
Home jurisdictions represented across client work
3
Focused service areas — nothing outside our mandate
Our Mandate
Foreign investment law in Thailand. We do not practise general commercial law, litigation, or employment. The focus is deliberate.
The Counsel Team
Who Handles Your Matter
Arjun Wattana
Managing Partner
Advises on BOI promotion applications and Foreign Business Act matters. Called to the Thai Bar in 2005; previously with the Ministry of Commerce's Foreign Business Administration Division.
Siriporn Charoenwong
Senior Associate
Specialises in cross-border holding structure analysis and tax treaty matters affecting Thai operating companies. LLM (Tax) from Thammasat University.
Nathakorn Kittipat
BOI Specialist
Manages BOI application preparation, project documentation, and post-approval compliance monitoring for promoted companies in technology and manufacturing sectors.
How We Work
Our Professional Standards
Thai Bar Association Membership
All practising lawyers hold current Thai Bar Association registration. Thai legal practice requires active bar membership, and ours is maintained without lapse.
Written Advice Standard
Legal positions are delivered as written memoranda. The basis of each conclusion is stated. Clients receive a document they can present to boards, investors, and regulatory bodies.
Client Confidentiality
All client matters are subject to attorney-client privilege and our confidentiality protocols. Client identities and matter details are not shared or referenced in external communications.
Scope Discipline
Each engagement is defined before work begins. Where a matter falls outside the agreed scope — or outside our practice area — we state that clearly rather than offering advice beyond our competence.
Current Law Monitoring
BOI promotion categories, Foreign Business Act interpretations, and BOI administrative procedures are reviewed quarterly. Advice reflects current regulatory practice, not prior-year guidance.
Fixed Fee Transparency
Fees are stated in full before engagement. There are no supplementary charges for document review within the agreed scope. Clients know the cost of the work before we begin it.
Foreign Investment Law in Thailand
The Regulatory Framework Foreign Investors Navigate
Thailand's foreign investment regulatory framework sits across several pieces of legislation that interact in ways that are not always apparent from reading them in isolation. The Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 sets the outer boundary of what foreign-majority enterprises may do; the Investment Promotion Act B.E. 2520 and the BOI's current promotion strategy create pathways around some of those limits; bilateral investment treaties and the U.S.-Thai Treaty of Amity create further carve-outs for specific investor nationalities.
Understanding which pathway is appropriate for a particular investment requires reading the proposed activity against current BOI promotion lists, understanding how the BOI's sector divisions interpret eligibility in practice, and assessing whether the ownership arrangement contemplated by the investor is one the Ministry of Commerce will accept. These are questions of application, not merely of text.
Cross-border holding structures introduce a further layer. Thailand has a bilateral tax treaty network covering more than sixty countries, but the availability of reduced withholding rates on dividends and the application of treaty benefits to specific structural arrangements depend on substance requirements and anti-avoidance provisions that have evolved under international BEPS standards. A holding structure that was straightforward to operate five years ago may require review against current standards.
chakricoas's work addresses these intersections with care. The practice is Bangkok-based, with lawyers who have worked directly with BOI sector divisions and the Department of Business Development. The advice delivered reflects how these bodies operate, not merely what the legislation says they should do.
Get in Touch
Speak with Our Practice
If you have a specific question about establishing or structuring a foreign investment in Thailand, we are glad to discuss whether our services are suited to your situation.
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