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Update on Thailand’s Proposed Relaxation of Foreign Business Restrictions (Thailand)

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May 2026

Update on Thailand’s Proposed Relaxation of Foreign Business Restrictions (Thailand)

Author: Yothin Intaraprasong, Poonyisa Sornchangwat, Pichaya Ruamsub (Co-author)

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Publisher: Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

Journal / Book: NO&T Thailand Legal Update No.45(May, 2026)

Notes

Related Newsletter

Update on an attempt to ease the foreign business restrictions in Thailand (Thailand) (May 2024)

Reference

Practice Areas

*Please note that this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. In addition, it is based on information as of its date of publication and does not reflect information after such date. In particular, please also note that preliminary reports in this newsletter may differ from current interpretations and practice depending on the nature of the report.

Background

Foreign business operations in Thailand are principally governed by the Foreign Business Act of 1999 (the “FBA”), which restricts foreign participation in certain business activities unless: (i) a foreign business license (the “FBL”) or a foreign business certificate (the “FBC”) is obtained; or (ii) other exemptions apply.

Certain exemptions from the FBL or FBC requirements may, however, be granted pursuant to subordinate legislation issued under the FBA, including: (i) a royal decree amending the categories of businesses under the annex to the FBA; and (ii) ministerial regulations prescribing businesses that may be operated by foreigners without obtaining an FBL or FBC. Over the years, the relevant authorities have periodically amended such subordinate legislation to facilitate foreign investment and to align Thailand’s foreign business regulatory framework with prevailing economic policies.

In line with this approach, on 12 May 2026, the Cabinet approved in principle two draft pieces of subordinate legislation to be issued under the FBA, as proposed by the Ministry of Commerce (the “Proposed Amendments”).

Proposed Amendments

Although the draft legislation implementing the Proposed Amendments has not yet been publicly released, the Cabinet resolutions provide an indication of the key proposed changes. Accordingly, we set out below a summary of the Proposed Amendments based on the Cabinet resolutions currently available.

(A) Draft Royal Decree Amending the Categories of Businesses under the Annex to the FBA (the “Royal Decree”)

The draft Royal Decree aims to amend the restricted business category under List Three (13) annexed to the FBA from:

“domestic trade in local agricultural products or produce that are not otherwise prohibited by law, excluding agricultural futures trading on the Agricultural Futures Exchange of Thailand without physical delivery or receipt of agricultural commodities within Thailand”※1,

to the following:

“domestic trade in local agricultural products or produce that are not otherwise prohibited by law, excluding agricultural futures trading conducted through a futures exchange involving physical delivery or receipt of agricultural commodities in warehouses designated by the futures exchange”.

The Proposed Amendments are intended to exempt agricultural futures trading conducted through a futures exchange involving the physical delivery or receipt of agricultural commodities in warehouses designated by the futures exchange from List Three (13). As a result, foreigners would be able to engage in such exempted activities without needing to obtain an FBL or FBC.

(B) Draft Ministerial Regulation Prescribing Businesses Exempt from Permission Requirements under the FBA (the “Ministerial Regulation”)

The draft Ministerial Regulation prescribes that certain agency businesses under List Three (11)(d) and service businesses under List Three (21) annexed to the FBA, totaling eight categories, shall be exempted from the FBL or FBC requirement. These businesses are:

Telecommunications services;
Treasury center business;
Administrative management, human resources management, and information technology management services;
Domestic debt guarantee services;
Leasing of designated space for installation of electronic devices used in financial services and automatic vending machines to facilitate and provide services to company employees;
Petroleum drilling services;
Other businesses under the law governing securities and exchange; and
Services as agents, dealers, advisors, or fund managers for derivatives transactions where the underlying products or reference variables are not governed by the Derivatives Act of 2003.

We note that, over the years, the government has made multiple attempts to relax foreign business restrictions. As highlighted in our previous article published in May 2024 (“Update on an attempt to ease the foreign business restrictions in Thailand”), there was a notable effort to ease these restrictions, particularly for the businesses listed in items 1-3 above which encompass highly desirable and in-demand activities.

Next steps

As of the date of this newsletter, the draft legislation referred to in (A) and (B) above has not yet been publicly released.

The Proposed Amendments therefore remain subject to further review and possible revision by the relevant authorities before they become effective. The review process will take into account observations and comments from relevant authorities, including the Council of State, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand, the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council, and the Bureau of the Budget. Following completion of the review process, the matter will be resubmitted to the Cabinet for acknowledgment. If no objections or differing opinions are raised, the Proposed Amendments will be deemed approved in accordance with the Cabinet resolutions.

It is worth noting that the Proposed Amendments do not constitute a liberalization allowing foreign operators to operate the exempted businesses in Thailand without regulatory oversight or approval. Rather, the proposed relaxations are intended only to reduce duplicative licensing procedures. In conducting those exempted businesses, other applicable requirements under the FBA would continue to apply (e.g., minimum capital requirements and prescribed timelines for bringing or remitting such capital into Thailand). In addition, foreign operators would still be required to obtain the necessary approvals from the relevant sector-specific regulators or authorities. Thus, business operators should consult legal advisers beforehand.

We will continue to monitor developments in this regard closely and provide further updates as they become available.

Endnotes

*1
By way of background, this business category was previously amended pursuant to the Royal Decree Amending the Categories of Businesses under the Annex to the FBA of 2013, dated 14 March 2013.

May 27, 2026

This newsletter is given as general information for reference purposes only and therefore does not constitute our firm’s legal advice. Any opinion stated in this newsletter is a personal view of the author(s) and not our firm’s official view. Given the nature of this newsletter as general information, statutory provisions and source citations may have been intentionally omitted. For any specific matter or legal issue, please do not rely on this newsletter but make sure to consult a legal adviser. We would be delighted to answer your questions, if any.

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Lawyers

Yothin Intaraprasong

Partner

Bangkok

Poonyisa Sornchangwat

Associate

Bangkok

Pichaya Ruamsub

Associate

Bangkok

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Update on Thailand’s Proposed Relaxation of Foreign Business Restrictions (Thailand)

Update on Thailand’s Proposed Relaxation of Foreign Business Restrictions (Thailand)

Background

Proposed Amendments

(A) Draft Royal Decree Amending the Categories of Businesses under the Annex to the FBA (the “Royal Decree”)

(B) Draft Ministerial Regulation Prescribing Businesses Exempt from Permission Requirements under the FBA (the “Ministerial Regulation”)

Next steps

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