In September, Thailand’s Ministry of Health passed a new law requiring plain packaging and labeling for cigarette products.

The regulation, implemented under Thailand’s Tobacco Products Control Act, places restrictions and requirements, is the first of its kind in Asia.

The law states that the name of the manufacturer must be labeled clearly on both sides of the package with standard font type, size, and color.

Health warning photos must now also be printed on both sides of the package, covering 85% of the package, and with a different warning picture on each side.

The brand of the cigarette and specific type must also be clearly labeled in a specific font type, size, and color as well as must be printed on at least two sides of the product packaging, but not more than three.

There also must be two warning messages on the cigarette packaging that take up at least three-fifths of each side.

Thailand businesses have until December 8^th to comply with the new packaging regulations or they will face a fine of up to 40,000 baht.

Thailand has issued a variety of anti-smoking laws in just the past year, including controversial regulations that prohibit smoking in households if it causes a family member harm as well as bans on smoking in certain public areas.

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Bloomberg reports that Thailand’s pension system is the worst out of 37 countries examined in the 2019 edition of the Melbourne Mercer Global Pensions Index.

Pension plans in the 37 countries were graded on measurements such as savings, employee rights, pension growth, and the overall growth of the economy.

Topping the pension rankings were the Netherlands, Denmark, and Australia respectively followed by Finland, Sweden, Norway, Singapore, New Zealand, and Canada.

Thailand’s pension system received a grade of “D” for what the report cited as an ineffective and ambiguous pension program.

The report stated that Thailand should introduce some form of mandatory retirement savings measures to remedy its pension system’s woes.

Under Thailand laws, only employees of the state are eligible for a pension tied to their salary.

Most Thai citizens have to rely on pensions ranging from 600-1,000 baht per month, which amounts to about $20-33.

One-in-three Thai workers are forced to continue working past retirement age due to insufficient savings and a poor pension program.

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The Trump administration has suspended $1.3 billion worth of duty-free trade for certain Thai products.

In a letter to Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announcing the decision, Trump said Thailand had not been doing enough to protect worker rights, specifically those laid out in international trade agreements.

The suspension of duty-free status will affect nearly one-third of all Thai exports to the US.

The decision by Trump is yet another hit to Thailand’s export industry, which is already stagnating due to factors such as the strong Thai baht as well as the ongoing US-China trade war.

Thailand currently sits as the second biggest beneficiary of duty-free trades to the US behind India.

The total trade between the two countries totaled $44.5 billion in 2018.

Thailand business lawyers note that the country’s fishing industry could bear the biggest brunt of the suspension as it has already seen its seafood trade to Europe fall drastically in recent years due to multiple unethical practices in the industry that perturbed the EU.

A further hit to seafood exports going to the US could signal alarm bells in the industry.

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Thailand’s new competition law has had little effect on the country’s dominance by monopolies and oligopolies, indicated by the huge disparity among the rich and poor in the nation.

In fact, Thailand’s wealth inequality ranks among the worst in the world with the top 1% controlling 67% of the entire country’s wealth.

But the market dominance by big businesses at the expense of small and medium-sized businesses is surprising when you consider the fact that Thailand was the first Southeast Asian nation to pass competition laws in 1999, which set up a Competition Commission to enforce a fair market in the country.

Despite that 1999 law though, laws against unfair trade practices in the marketplace have seen lax enforcement due to the Competition Commission’s coziness with big business.

In fact, until the new competition amendment passed, nearly the entire commission was made up of politicians, industry representatives, and bureaucrats, which is one reason why Thailand recently ranked as 96th in a study of market dominance.

Similar Southeast Asian nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia rank much higher, coming in at 24th and 51st respectively.

After the 2014 military coup, the current amendments were passed to make the Competition Commission as an independent body, filled with economists, reputable Thai business lawyers, and other individuals with no current ties to big businesses.

Even though it is a right step, experts have little hope for the new amendments to competition laws in Thailand.

Why? Because, in most cases, government policies rather than business trade practices and regulations stifle market competition and provide unfair protections for monopolies and oligopolies.

For example, many large government contracts are given to certain business without competitive bidding.

Another illustrative example is Thailand’s beer regulations, which protect the giant beer manufacturers in the country.

In Thailand, in order to obtain a license to produce beer, applicants must prove investments up to $3.3 million and have the capacity to produce over 100,000 liters of beer per year, effectively barring small craft breweries and beer brands from entering the marketplace.

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Indonesian ride-hailing giant Go-Jek has officially entered Thailand’s ultracompetitive and burgeoning food delivery scene.

In order to gain a foothold in its fellow southeast Asian country, Go-Jek partnered with local ride-hailer and motorbike delivery service Get.

Go-Jek was unwilling to provide specific details on who their main funders were, but according to Thailand business attorneys, foreign ownership of domestic companies cannot exceed 49%.

The two will work together using the established Get brand name and the company’s local expertise while Go-Jek will provide funding and the technology to challenge the big fish in the market, such as Grab.

Get is a Thai start-up that has only been in operation for less than a year, but has already amassed 20,000 merchants and 10,000 drivers.

Thailand is Go-Jek’s third entry into foreign markets, with Singapore and Vietnam coming before.

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Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn is now the largest shareholder of Siam Cement Group Pcl, the country’s fourth most valuable company, according to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

The King’s holds a 33.3% share of the giant industrial supplies and construction company, which amounts to over $5 billion.

In June, the Crown Property Bureau (CPB), which manages the monarch’s vast wealth and land holdings, issued a statement giving the King personal ownership over all of its assets.

According to Forbes, the change made King Vajiralongkorn the richest monarch in the world, with a wealth of over $30 billion.

The King is also listed as the seventh largest stockholder of Siam Commercial Bank, the third most valuable company in Thailand. The CPB is still listed as the number one shareholder.

Read the full story here.

For an expert Thailand business lawyer, contact the seasoned attorneys at Chaninat & Leeds.

A Japanese firm agreed to a plea deal after allegedly bribing public officials in Thailand, in what is the country’s first ever plea bargain since introducing the new system last month.

Japanese government investigators alleged that Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Ltd. (MHPS) violated the Unfair Competition Prevention Law by bribing foreign officials.

Although MHPS struck a plea deal with the government, they did not admit any wrongdoing and got assurances that for their cooperation in the case, will not face any prosecution for any crimes.

According to the special investigation squad, members of MHPS bribed Thai government officials into choosing their company for a contract to construct a power plant in the Southeast Asian country.

MHPS also conducted an in-house investigation and found that several employees engaged in misconduct and, subsequently, turned that information over to investigators.

The violators, if found guilty, face up to $2.67 million in fines.

Read the full story here.

For foreign business licenses in Thailand, contact the expert Thai and US business lawyers at Chaninat & Leeds.

The ruling Thai military government is courting Chinese investors to help fund a $51 billion infrastructure and economic development plan for the country’s eastern seaboard.

The so-called Eastern Economic Corridor project would use Chinese funds to introduce technologically advanced industries to the region, from biotech and robotics to aircraft maintenance, in hopes to revamp what was a traditional manufacturing hub of the country.

According to the Thai officials, the project would go a long way in establishing Thailand’s foot into China’s incredibly ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, which literally aims to be the 21st century’s version of the Silk Road.

Since the 2014 coup that saw the military junta take power, Thailand has seen a significant dip in foreign investment.

The five-year project, running from 2017 to 2021, is an attempt to boost foreign investment and utilize the regions of Rayong, Chachoengsao, and Chonburi–which have direct access by sea to the rest of Asia.

Read the full story here.

For a qualified and professional Thailand business attorney, contact the Thai and US law firm Chaninat & Leeds.

The Better Moon grocery store and café is located near the On Nut BTS. Here, you will be able to find a café with locally sourced ingredients, meeting/workshop rooms, eco-friendly workshops/discussions and its main latest attraction, a refill station.

Current legal issues are discussed in the Thailand Family Law Center by Thailand family lawyers. 

The refill station is the first of its kind in Bangkok. Khun Pear, one of the owners of the family business wanted to incorporate an aspect to the café that would leave customers wanting to try out new ways to be environmentally conscious with their own lifestyles.

The message she leaves with Thai Law Forum during an interview is that although it may seem like a small change, “as long as you have fun with it” it can turn into a greater change.

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Image: Better Moon Café Logo

Dr. Zodak Lempert is the pioneer for medical tourism in Thailand. Advising the board of Tourism from 2006-2009, he positioned Thailand as a medical tourism destination by bringing together Thailand’s medical services from hospitals, alternative medicine and massages under one umbrella.

The result was that Thailand saw an influx of tourists in the early 2000’s, 10% of them were coming in for medical purposes. He brought his medical tourism company from Switzerland to Thailand in 2009 and also began lecturing at the Srinakharinwirot University for tourism management.

Couples wishing to get married and draft a prenuptial agreement in Thailand should contact attorneys with decades of experience in Thai jurisdiction.

Over the past two decades the influx of medical tourists into Thailand has declined. In an interview with the Thai Law Forum, Dr. Lempert explains the reasons why.

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Image: My Med Holiday