THANATHIP & PARTNERS
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Trade Competition Act B.E. 2560 (2017)
October 2017
By Nat Boonjunwetvat
The newly enacted Trade Competition Act (B.E. 2560) (2017) (the “TCA”) was published in the royal gazette on 7 July 2017 and came into effect on 5 October 2017. Amongst other notable changes, the TCA extends the authority of the Office of Trade Competition Commission (the “OTCC”) as an independent authority to regulate and promote competition and fair trade and introduces new merger control regime as follows:
- Pre-Merger Approval - any merger which would result in a ‘monopoly’ or ‘market dominance’ requires a prior approval from the OTCC; and
- Post-Merger Notification - any merger which would result in a ‘substantial reduction of market competition’ shall be notified to the OTCC within seven days from the date of the merger.
This document is solely intended to provide an update on recent development in Thailand legislation and is not purported to provide a legal opinion, nor a legal advice to any person.
Implementation of Partnership and Company Registration via DBD Biz Regist
March 2025
Following the implementation of the regulation governing online registration of partnerships and limited companies, the Department of Business Development (the “DBD”) has officially launched the new digital registration system called the DBD Biz Regist on 16 January 2025. As part of the transition towards having the DBD Biz Regist as the sole business registration channel in Thailand by 1 July 2025, the DBD has discontinued its online pre-reservation system for business registration since 3 February 2025 to encourage the use of the DBD Biz Regist instead of a physical system which has long been in use.
New BOI Scheme for Startups
February 2025
On 15 July 2024, the Thailand Board of Investment ("BOI") unveiled a funding scheme under the Competitiveness Enhancement Policy Committee for Target Industries (the “Committee”) (Announcement No. 2/2567 ), aimed at accelerating the growth of high-potential startups. This newly introduced framework supersedes the previous program established under Announcement No. 2/2564 and its subsequent amendment.
Thailand’s Financial Hub Act: Key Provisions and Objectives
February 2025
The Thai Cabinet has recently approved the draft Financial Hub Act (the “Act”), with the aim to establish Thailand as a global hub for financial industries, attracting foreign investment and enhancing employment opportunities for the Thai labour force.