The most common question many investors have is whether it is expensive to do business in Thailand, in Phuket more specifically. The answer to this question varies. It will depend on a lot of factors like type of business, size of rental office, labor costs, etc. Overall, if to be compared with other countries, doing business in Phuket Thailand may still prove to be inexpensive.
The Board of Investment of Thailand has provided a breakdown of all expected expenses like fees, capitalization, etc. entailed by registration of a business or company in Thailand. The figures will give you an idea more or less of how much funds you need to prepare and have if you plan to operate a business in Thailand. You can click here to know more about business registration in Thailand.
The costs of starting and operating a business in Thailand include:
| Government fees for visas | Rate |
|---|---|
| Work permit for 3 months Work permit for 6 months Work permit for 1 year Work permit for 2 years One-year visa Re-entry visa (single/multiple) |
@ THB 750 (US$24.66) @ THB 1,500 (US$49.33) @ THB 3,000 (US$98.65) @ THB 6,000 (US$197.30) @ THB 1,900 (US$62.48) @ THB 1,000/3,800 (US$32.88/124.96) |
| Visa processing fees (law firms) | Rate |
|---|---|
| Work permit (New) Visa extension Re-entry visa |
@ THB 40,000 (US$1,315.46) @ THB 35,000 (US$1,150.94) @ THB 4,000 (US$131.54) |
| Government fees for Company Registration | Rate |
|---|---|
| Company registration List 2 Alien business license List 3 Alien business license Factory license |
@ THB 5,500 per 1 million @ THB 40,000 – 500,000 @ THB 20,000 – 250,000 @ THB 500 – 60,000 |
| Accounting | Rate |
|---|---|
| Tax returns and VAT Legal registration per page Review / draft contracts, agreements |
@ THB 20,000 yearly @ THB 1,400 @ THB 40,000 up |
- Other related variable costs. These costs will vary according to type and location of business.
- Office rental
- Construction costs
- Translation costs
- Paid-up capital
- Setting up of bank accounts
- Communication and utility setting up costs
- Insurance for business and persons
It is important to understand that the investment costs differ according to the business sector or category your business will be classified under. Investment into a restaurant may be anything between 500,000 to 30,000,000 THB while investment into a hotel may be anything between 5,000,000 THB up to xxx billions THB.
Labor costs will also depend on the qualification required by the position but generally, cost of labor in Phuket Thailand is within acceptable and reasonable range. BOI survey showed that median cost of labor per month will be between 100,000 THB for a Managing Director, 75,000 THB for a Financial Controller, 55,000 for managers, 27,000 THB for an executive secretary, 18,000 THB for an accountant or an engineer, 15,000 THB for sales staff, 10,000 THB for Office Clerk and between 10,000 to 8,000 THB for skilled labor
Although most of the expected expenses have been identified and priced, there are always unexpected expenses which investors should be prepared for. Some of such unexpected expenses would be penalty for expired work permits or visa, accidents during construction, etc. This list should somehow help make an estimate of the initial funding required for doing a business in Phuket Thailand.
