Q's Regarding Setting Up a Business in Hua Hin

[rd]

Dear All,

I am looking to set up a restaurant in HH and would like your viewpoint/experiences in similar endeavours. I have been to HH in 2006 for a week and to BKK several times in the last 8 years.

1. Can I own the land for the restaurant ? There is some confusion on ownership issues, some suggest setting up a company.
2. I need to bring in 4 qualified staff to do the actual cooking , is that legally permissible ? If not what are the remedies ?
3. If ownership not possible what is the ballpark rent in the main tourist area of HH for a 2000 - 2500 square feet of space.

I have substantial experience in running restaurants and am running 2 in New Delhi, India. I would love to recreate to experience in HH.

Thanks in Advance for all your help.

RD

[Super Joe]

1. Can I own the land for the restaurant ? There is some confusion on ownership issues, some suggest setting up a company.

you cant as an alien, a thai can (dont trust anyone) or you can set up a limited company and your company can own the land. you have full control over the company but there's legal issues with your company having 'nominee' shareholders, see link below
also to comply with the foreign business act technically you should have an 'alien business licence', but nobody bothers with this
http://www.thailandlaw.com/bizrestrictions.html

2. I need to bring in 4 qualified staff to do the actual cooking , is that legally permissible ?

yes it is ok, infact you need 4 employees to obtain a work permit for yourself on a 1 year business visa
business visa and work permit are easy to get

3. If ownership not possible what is the ballpark rent in the main tourist area of HH for a 2000 - 2500 square feet of space.

freehold ownership anywhere near centre of town might cost 8M Baht up
most foreigners rent, wouldnt like to guess at rents, maybe someone else can help with this
if you lease, make sure you get 5 year minimum lease imo, anything over 3 years can/should be registered at land department to give you what they call 'real rights' under the property law. this way no-one can do anything to you for this period, if not registered at land office the lord can play up, despite what your contract may say

there's a million and one restaurants here and business is hard, good luck though, i think everyone will agree low season in hua hin is very low

check everything over with a good lawyer
.

[JW]

Hi rd,

If you have a operating business then that company can take ownership of land. You can get work permits for chefs and managers. Rent is very dependant on location - up to 150K a month for the best location - down to around 30K for something of the main street.

What sort of restaurant would you look to create - as a real food lover any new restaurant iis great news. Look forward to hearing your plans.


JW

[buksida]

I'll have a go at this but may not be 100% on it so maybe some others can confirm.

1) No, you cannot own the land unless you are Thai. You can only own 49% of a company also and need 6 Thai shareholders for the remaining 51%.

2) Yes, if you want a work permit through your company you need to employ (and pay insurance for) 4 Thais, they will check up on this.

3) Expensive! Rents in downtown Hua Hin are often in excess of 100k per month.

[Wanderlust]

rd,
Correct me if i am wrong, but i think your hope was to bring in 4 non Thais to work for you? I don't think this is possible unless you are employing another 16 Thais as well, and your company would also have to be valued at a hefty sum (which i think affects the tax you would pay also). Also even with these things it might be hard getting work permits for the 4 you want, as I think there are plenty of chefs and other catering staff in Thailand and there is a list of jobs that it is nigh on impossible to get work permits for, and I think this is one of them. It would depend on how highly skilled they are I think.
Not wishing to put you off but look into this very carefully before proceeding, and good luck!

[JimmyGreaves]

I'll have a go at this but may not be 100% on it so maybe some others can confirm.

1) No, you cannot own the land unless you are Thai. You can only own 49% of a company also and need 6 Thai shareholders for the remaining 51%.

Small correction on this Buksi, you now only need 3 shareholders not 7

[buksida]

Does that mean we can now boot four of ours out or will that involve mass expense and 12 reams of paper?

[JimmyGreaves]

rd,
Correct me if i am wrong, but i think your hope was to bring in 4 non Thais to work for you? I don't think this is possible unless you are employing another 16 Thais as well, and your company would also have to be valued at a hefty sum (which i think affects the tax you would pay also). Also even with these things it might be hard getting work permits for the 4 you want, as I think there are plenty of chefs and other catering staff in Thailand and there is a list of jobs that it is nigh on impossible to get work permits for, and I think this is one of them. It would depend on how highly skilled they are I think.
Not wishing to put you off but look into this very carefully before proceeding, and good luck!

Plenty of foreign chefs in restaurants in BKK and large hotels. I know one with CSE geography

[JimmyGreaves]

Does that mean we can now boot four of ours out or will that involve mass expense and 12 reams of paper?

If you've got the sign off forms I would imagine you can just let them go after submitting the forms.

[margaretcarnes]

rd - Wanderlust is right there about non-Thai workers. The capital investment held by a registered company increases mega-fold for each additional work permit holder, and every non-Thai you have MUST hold a work permit.
I would guess the capital needed for the company ownership alone, with 5 non-Thais (including yourself) could be from 8 to 16 million baht. But get a good lawyer and check it out.

[baron_wastelanduk]

rd

if u r looking for a chef still do not hesitate to pm me its just the kinda thing im looking for and a chance maybe to get out of uk

cdk the baron

[Jockey]

Does that mean we can now boot four of ours out or will that involve mass expense and 12 reams of paper?

There is a difference between shareholders & employees. The amount of Thai shareholders required to own a company was reduced on July 1st (to I think 2) but the amount of employees pro rata to a foreign worker remains the same which I think is 4 or 5 Thais to 1 Foreigner (non Thai).

[margaretcarnes]

Yes the ratio was 5 to 1 when I had the company 5 years ago. But that could include part time staff such as a cleaner. The authorities didn't seem to bother about hours worked, just numbers on the books.
However, as with the number of shareholders, rules can change.

[barrys]

This apparently varies from province to province. The current ratio in Prachuabkirikhan is 4:1