Thailand waives foreign-business permits for seven service categories
New rules remove Foreign Business Act approvals for selected telecoms, finance, related-company and petroleum services
- Thailand has waived the requirement for foreign businesses to obtain a permit under the Foreign Business Act for seven specific service categories.
- The exempted services include treasury centers, certain telecommunications businesses, petroleum-drilling services, and various services provided between related legal entities (such as HR, IT, and debt guarantees).
- The new regulation also revises and expands exemptions for securities and derivatives activities, covering dealers, advisers, and fund managers under specific conditions.
- The change is intended to remove overlapping approval requirements, but foreign operators must still comply with all other relevant sector-specific laws and licenses.
Thailand has exempted seven categories of service businesses operated by foreigners from obtaining additional permission under the Foreign Business Act, according to a new ministerial regulation published in the Royal Gazette.
The Ministerial Regulation Prescribing Service Businesses Not Requiring Permission for Foreign Business Operations (No. 5), B.E. 2569 (2026), also revises the rules covering securities and derivatives activities.
The regulation was issued under Section 46, paragraph one, and List Three (21) attached to the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999).
The exemptions remove the requirement to obtain permission under the Foreign Business Act, but operators must continue to comply with licences, conditions and oversight imposed under the relevant sector-specific laws.
Securities and derivatives rules revised
The regulation adds loans provided for securities purchases and securities repurchase agreements to activities that do not require separate foreign-business permission.
It also revises the exemption for derivatives businesses to cover derivatives dealers, advisers and fund managers.
The rules include transactions in which the underlying asset or settlement is linked to foreign-exchange or interest rates, subject to the conditions prescribed under derivatives legislation.
Services covered by the exemptions
The newly exempted and revised activities cover:
- Telecommunications businesses operating under Type 1 licences without their own telecommunications networks.
- Treasury centre businesses.
- Administrative, human-resources and information-technology services provided between related legal entities.
- The rental of limited space for electronic financial-service equipment and automated machines selling goods or services for company employees.
- Domestic debt-guarantee services between related legal entities.
- Petroleum-drilling services provided under direct contracts with concessionaires, production-sharing contractors or service contractors under petroleum law.
- Selected securities and derivatives activities meeting the prescribed legal conditions.
The changes are intended to remove overlapping approval requirements for activities already governed by specialised legislation and regulators.
Criteria for related legal entities
The regulation defines related legal entities through several ownership and management tests.
The criteria include entities in which more than half of the shareholders or partners are the same people.
They also cover cases in which a shareholder or partner holds at least 25% of the capital in each entity, or one legal entity holds at least 25% of the capital in another.
Entities may also be considered related when more than half of the directors or managing partners of one entity serve in the same capacity in another.
These criteria apply to the exemptions for internal administrative, human-resources and information-technology services, as well as domestic debt guarantees and certain space-rental arrangements.
The regulation was signed on August 18, 2026, by Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun.
