Thai Gov Targets Nominees in Real Estate Ownership Crackdown

Thansettakij•Economy•6d ago

Reader Briefing

The Department of Business Development is intensifying investigations into 36,277 legal entities with foreign investment to identify illegal nominee shareholders in the real estate sector.

•The Department of Business Development identified 36,277 legal entities with foreign investment for in-depth inspection regarding nominee shareholding.
•The crackdown focuses on real estate ownership, including land and condominiums, particularly in 16 key provinces including Bangkok and tourism hubs.
•The Department of Business Development reports that for the first 7 months of 2026, 52,285 new businesses were registered.
•Violators using nominees to illegally hold land may be ordered by the Department of Lands to sell the land within 180 days.

Overview

•The Department of Business Development is auditing 36,277 legal entities with foreign investment to determine if Thai nationals are being used as nominees to bypass legal restrictions.
•Out of 144,706 legal entities providing land ownership data from the Department of Lands, 125,662 were registered with the Department of Business Development.
•35,154 of the targeted entities are concentrated in 16 provinces, including Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Pathum Thani, Samut Sakhon, Nakhon Pathom, Chon Buri, Surat Thani, Phuket, Rayong, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Krabi, Phang Nga, and Mae Hong Son.
•Among entities where foreigners hold no more than 49% of shares, 3,865 entities own land of 10 rai or more.
•The Department of Business Development is expanding investigations into condominiums to prevent foreigners from using nominees to own more than the legal 49% limit.
•Legal action under the Foreign Business Act for using nominees can result in imprisonment of up to 3 years, fines between 100,000 and 1,000,000 baht, or both.
•In July 2026, 7,512 new businesses were established with a registered capital of 53,647 million baht.
•The Department of Business Development estimates total new business registrations for the year 2026 will be approximately 80,000-85,000 entities.

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Key Entities

Organization

Ministry of Commerce(กระทรวงพาณิชย์)ℹ️

The ministry responsible for the mission to suppress nominee businesses in 2026.

Department of Business Development(กรมพัฒนาธุรกิจการค้า)

The lead agency auditing legal entities with foreign investment and monitoring business registrations.

Department of Lands(กรมที่ดิน)

The agency providing real estate ownership data and enforcing land sale orders for illegal nominee holdings.

Law

Foreign Business Act(พระราชบัญญัติการประกอบธุรกิจของคนต่างด้าว)

The law used by the Department of Business Development to prosecute those using nominees for business operations.

Place

Bangkok(กรุงเทพมหานคร)ℹ️

One of the 16 key provinces where foreign-invested legal entities are concentrated.

Nonthaburi(นนทบุรี)ℹ️

One of the 6 provinces in the Bangkok and vicinity group being monitored.

Samut Prakan(สมุทรปราการ)ℹ️

One of the 6 provinces in the Bangkok and vicinity group being monitored.

Pathum Thani(ปทุมธานี)ℹ️

One of the 6 provinces in the Bangkok and vicinity group being monitored.

Samut Sakhon(สมุทรสาคร)ℹ️

One of the 6 provinces in the Bangkok and vicinity group being monitored.

Nakhon Pathom(นครปฐม)ℹ️

One of the 6 provinces in the Bangkok and vicinity group being monitored.

Chon Buri(ชลบุรี)ℹ️

A key tourism and investment province targeted for nominee scanning.

Surat Thani(สุราษฎร์ธานี)ℹ️

A key tourism and investment province targeted for nominee scanning.

Phuket(ภูเก็ต)ℹ️

A key tourism and investment province targeted for nominee scanning.

Rayong(ระยอง)ℹ️

A key tourism and investment province targeted for nominee scanning.

Chiang Mai(เชียงใหม่)ℹ️