Thailand Restricts Foreign Land Ownership and Shareholding for Certain Promoted Investments

Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) has imposed new restrictions on foreign-majority shareholding and land ownership for companies in certain promoted activities. The changes took effect on September 1, 2025, but were not published in the Government Gazette until December 30, 2025, under Notification of the Board of Investment No. Sor. 7/2568 on the Amendment to List of Activities Eligible for Investment Promotion under Notification of the Board of Investment No. 9/2565, dated July 22, 2025.

Foreign Land Ownership Restrictions

Generally, foreign land ownership is one of the privileges granted to BOI-promoted companies, allowing them to own land to engage in the promoted activities. However, with these new restrictions, the BOI will no longer grant land-ownership privileges to foreign-majority-owned companies that conduct business activities in the following categories:

• Rolling, drawing, casting, or forging of nonferrous metals (category 5.4.9)
• Manufacturing of ferrous metal products or ferrous metal parts (category 5.4.11.2)
• Manufacturing of nonferrous metal products and/or nonferrous metal parts for industrial use (category 5.4.11.4)
• Manufacturing of other metal products, including other metal parts for industrial use (category 5.4.11.5)
• Manufacture of chemical products for industry (category 6.2)
• Manufacture of plastic products for industrial goods and parts (category 6.4.1)

These restrictions do not apply to existing BOI-promoted companies that have at least three projects granted promotion under the same juristic person during the past 15 years (2011–2025) with total investment of at least THB 5 billion, excluding the cost of land and working capital.

Foreign Shareholding Restrictions

For companies to be eligible for BOI promotion in three other categories of business activities, at least 51% of the company’s registered capital must be held by Thai individual shareholders, unless the BOI-promoted activity is located within a special border economic zone as designated by the BOI. These three categories are:

• Manufacture of bags made of leather or artificial leather (category 9.8; not included in this restriction are shoes and other products made of these materials)
• Manufacture of furniture or parts (category 9.12)
• Manufacture of printed materials (category 9.14)

Applications and Next Steps

These restrictions apply to all BOI applications submitted from September 1, 2025, onward. Foreign business operators engaging in the restricted activities and aiming to seek BOI promotion should carefully review alternative options for foreign shareholding structures and foreign land ownership through permissions and privileges granted under other relevant laws and regulations.

By Tilleke & Gibbins, Thailand, a Transatlantic Law International affiliated firm. 

For further information or for any assistance please contact thailand@transatlanticlaw.com

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