LEGALBackground
Thailand expands exempted foreign business activities
A new ministerial regulation (No. 5) published August 28, 2026, adds several business services to the list of activities foreigners may operate without a Foreign Business License. These include margin lending, securities repo, Type 1 telecom services, treasury centers, shared administrative/HR/IT services between related entities, domestic debt guarantee services between related entities, leasing space for ATMs and electronic machines, and petroleum drilling for direct contractors. The regulation also revises derivatives business exemptions.
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