Empowering business in Southeast Asia
Thailand has gone through some tumultuous years that have had some impact on its economy. To help investment and growth, this complete guide to doing business in Thailand updated for 2016 will guide investors and entrepreneurs in their activities, to launch and conduct business in Thailand.
The spread of the digital disruption to more and more sectors does not spare banking and finance. In Thailand, the emergence of a new generation of financial technology – FinTech – startups spurs the development of a complete ecosystem of supporting structures, from funding and regulation to accelerators and events.
The automotive sector is a major driver of the Thai economy with strong infrastructures and a vast network of small and large, local and foreign companies all along the car-production supply chain. A large hub in ASEAN and Asia, the Thai automotive industry is gearing towards a green automotive production base.
Thailand is a country with rather low taxes: a low corporate income tax, a progressive income tax and a low VAT that make the country attractive for business. Some other taxes and specific regulations are also applied to particular key sectors such as transport, banking and finance or real estate.
To enhance the development of strategic industries in Thailand’s different regions, the Thai authorities have launched a series of policies to attract target businesses. With clusters for several sectors and throughout the country, incentives have been planned to promote industries in areas that present specific advantages.
The 50 largest public listed companies of Thailand, components of the SET50 index, are important actors in the economy of Thailand, Southeast Asia and beyond. With a brief presentation, sector, and logo of each company, this useful list provides information and links to the company’s website and its stock quote.
The global enthusiasm for entrepreneurship is well represented in Thailand. Benefiting from several intrinsic advantages, the land of smile is now home to a booming ecosystem supporting and revolving around startups and entrepreneurs in the tech sector as well as in several other industries.
A leader in energy production and consumption in Southeast Asia, Thailand is committed to diversify its energy sources towards renewable ones. With ambitious plans for the different alternative energies to be implemented by 2021, the Thai government also has planned for incentives to attract energy producers and investors.
After several troublesome years, Thailand is undergoing a wave of political and economic reforms aimed for the long term. At the heart of this economic transformation, some innovating approaches are leading the way towards a sustainable future for Thailand in some key industries: digital technologies, bioplastics and energy.
“Generation Y”, as opposed to the previous “Generation X” and “Baby Boomers”, is the generation of people born between 1981 and 2000. Characterized by familiarity with technology and some consumption behaviors, Generation Y is a major segment in Thailand that also presents particular national specificities.