What Clients Say
Accounts from Investors
Who Have Used Our Services
The experiences described here reflect the engagements clients have undertaken with chakricoas — the work done, the time it took, and what the deliverables enabled them to do.
Return to Homepage14+
Years in foreign investment law practice
30+
Investor home jurisdictions served
4.8
Average satisfaction rating from client feedback
3
Focused services — nothing beyond our mandate
Client Feedback
In Their Own Words
Marcus Heinemann
Hamburg, Germany · BOI Application
We engaged chakricoas to manage our BOI application for an automotive components manufacturing facility in Chonburi. The eligibility assessment was thorough and set realistic expectations about the category we would qualify under — which was not the one we had initially assumed. The application was submitted eight weeks after engagement and approved without a request for additional information. The post-approval milestone tracking has been particularly useful; we had not anticipated how much administrative work that stage would involve.
March 2025
Priya Lalwani
Singapore · FBL Advisory
The Foreign Business License Advisory gave us a clear account of where our proposed retail consultancy activity sat under the Foreign Business Act and why the FBL pathway was more appropriate for our situation than BOI promotion. The written advice was structured in a way that our Singapore board could read without a background in Thai law. The response time was good — the memorandum came back within three weeks. I would have liked a slightly longer call to discuss the conclusions, but the written document covered everything that mattered.
February 2025
James O'Brien
Dublin, Ireland · Holding Memo
We needed to understand how our proposed Irish holding structure would interact with Thailand's withholding tax on dividends and whether the substance requirements under BEPS were something we needed to address immediately or could plan toward. The memorandum answered both questions directly and included an executive summary that we sent to our CFO without modification. The fee was modest relative to the clarity the document provided. We will use chakricoas again when we need to formally establish the holding arrangement.
April 2025
Saoirse Kim
Seoul, South Korea · BOI Application
Our company was expanding into digital services in Thailand and the BOI promotion eligibility was not straightforward — our activity sat across two potential categories and we were uncertain which would apply. chakricoas's eligibility assessment resolved that clearly and also flagged that one of the categories we had been considering would require a minimum investment we had not budgeted for. That early correction saved a considerable amount of time in the application process.
March 2025
Roberto Bianchi
Milan, Italy · FBL Advisory
We came to chakricoas with a fairly specific question about whether our proposed food import and distribution activity in Thailand required a Foreign Business License or could be structured differently. The advisory covered the question directly and was candid about the fact that our preferred structure — Italian-majority shareholding — would require an FBL that the timeframe of our project might not accommodate. That honest account of the timeline helped us reconsider the structure before committing to it.
January 2025
Amara Thongchai
Zürich, Switzerland · Holding Memo
The holding structure memorandum was exactly what we needed at the pre-investment stage. Our board wanted to understand the implications of a Swiss holding before we engaged tax advisers in Switzerland to do the formal opinion. The chakricoas memorandum gave us a reliable Thailand-side account of the treaty position and the withholding rates under each structure we were considering. The analysis was precise and the scope was stated clearly so we knew what remained to be addressed with Swiss counsel.
April 2025
Case Accounts
Three Engagement Summaries
The following accounts describe the situation that brought the client to us, the service delivered, and the outcome. Names and identifying details have been changed.
European Manufacturing Investor — BOI Promotion Application
Duration: 5 months
Challenge
A European precision components manufacturer planned a greenfield facility in the Eastern Economic Corridor and assumed their activity qualified for BOI promotion under the automotive sector. Initial eligibility mapping showed the activity more precisely fit a target technology category with different minimum investment and R&D commitment requirements.
What We Did
Conducted a detailed eligibility assessment, mapped the activity to the correct BOI category, revised the project plan to reflect the applicable R&D requirement, and prepared the financial documentation. The application was submitted and managed through the BOI review period, including one round of additional information requested by the relevant sector division.
Outcome
BOI approval issued approximately 10 weeks after submission. The promotion includes an eight-year corporate income tax holiday and import duty exemptions on machinery. Post-approval compliance schedule established; first operational milestone (commencement of production) due within 24 months of certificate date.
The eligibility correction at the outset saved us from submitting under the wrong category and almost certainly facing rejection or a multi-month delay.
U.S. Investor — Treaty of Amity and FBL Pathway Analysis
Duration: 3 weeks
Challenge
A U.S. marketing services company was establishing a Thai operating entity and had received conflicting advice about whether a Foreign Business Certificate under the U.S.-Thai Treaty of Amity was sufficient or whether an FBL was also required for their specific range of activities.
What We Did
Reviewed the specific activities planned against the Foreign Business Act categories and the Treaty of Amity's scope of entitlement. The analysis distinguished between the activities covered by the Treaty and those that fell outside it. A written advisory presented both pathways and the practical implications of each, including the administrative process for obtaining the Foreign Business Certificate.
Outcome
Client determined that the core activities were covered by the Treaty of Amity and proceeded with the Foreign Business Certificate application. One ancillary activity was restructured to fall within the Treaty's scope rather than requiring a separate FBL. The Foreign Business Certificate was subsequently issued by the Department of Business Development.
The memorandum resolved the conflicting advice we had received and gave us a clear basis for the decision we needed to make.
Asian Family Office — Cross-Border Holding Memorandum
Duration: 2 weeks
Challenge
A family office with interests across Southeast Asia was reviewing the holding structure above its Thai operating company. The existing structure had been established before BEPS substance requirements became a practical concern, and the family office wanted to understand the current exposure before engaging local advisers in the holding jurisdiction.
What We Did
Produced a memorandum analysing the Thailand-side implications of the existing holding structure — covering the applicable tax treaty, the withholding rate on dividends, the anti-avoidance provisions that had become relevant under recent Thai Revenue Department guidance, and the substance indicators that would support treaty benefit access.
Outcome
The memorandum identified two aspects of the existing structure that warranted review given recent changes in Revenue Department interpretation. The family office used the document as the Thailand-side basis for a broader review involving advisers in the holding jurisdiction. The executive summary was shared with the family's investment committee without modification.
The document gave our investment committee a clear Thailand-side account without requiring them to read Thai tax statute. The scope statement was also useful — it told us exactly what to take to our Singapore advisers.
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Saturday: by arrangement
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Credentials
Professional Affiliations & Recognition
Thai Bar Association
Active registration, all practising lawyers
BOI Listed Advisor
Recognised investment advisor, Thailand BOI
ASEAN Legal Network
Regional cross-border referral network member
Chambers Asia-Pacific
Referenced for foreign investment advisory, 2022–2025
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