Clubhouse App is Booming

Clubhouse is a drop-in audio chat serving as an online platform for its users to meet, discuss, and exchange ideas based on their interests.  This is an audio-only set-up, which means there are no texts, videos, and images, except for the user’s profile picture.

Various interesting people, professionals, prominent personalities, influencers, celebrities, entrepreneurs, media presses, etc. are hosting Clubhouse rooms.  This will give its users the opportunity to gain insights from the experts and join conversation within the community.  There are several discussions occurring at the same time, thus allowing users to shift speakers and topics at any time.  Various conversational topics are accessible such as health, business, and technology, to name a few.

Clubhouse is currently by invitation, wherein you have to be invited by an existing member to be able to join this exclusive community.  Some people are selling invites so you have to be aware of invite scams.  Additionally, it is only available on iOS for iPhone users at present.  However, there are plans to open this app to the general public soon.  When this happens, this could open up a new way to engage with broader audience and connect with experts in other industries.  As you connect and meet other Clubhouse members, they may eventually follow you over to your other channels and communities; which will be a great advantage to business owners and marketers.

Completing Property Transfers in Thailand During Covid-19

Dear Purchasers,

It has come to our attention that many clients who are due to complete on property purchases are worried because they cannot yet get back to Thailand.

We would like to advise you that there is no need to worry as the land office has a set protocol to allow transfers to take place and complete without the buyer actually being in Thailand.

The process is as follows;

1. We compete a specific power of attorney using the land office own form. We then email that to you in English (for your reference so you can understand what you are signing) and Thai for you to print out and sign.
2. We also require a copy of your passport picture page signed as well.
3. In the case the buyer owes the developer money we can accept that into our client account bank account then prepare the correct cashiers cheque’s to be paid at the land office.

The total process to get all the documents countersigned is as follows.

Once the forms are printed out via email (in the foreign country) they have to be taken to a notary public lawyer for the purchaser to sign and get witnessed. The papers then need to be sent, by post, to the legalization dept with that country to be legalized. After that they need to be taken to the Thai embassy to get the stamp. Once that is all completed they need to be all courier to us via DHL etc.

Once received the land office will allow the transfer to take place regardless that the buyer is not Thailand.

The whole process time line varies from country to country however using the United Kingdom as an example the normal time to get this all completed and returned to Thailand is around 16- 20 days.

Aerotropolis Development | EEC

An aerotropolis is a city where the layout, infrastructure, industry, and economy are centered on and sustained by an airport. The aerotropolis enhances economic development within 20-30 kilometers from the airport, which serves as a multimodal “airport city” commercial center. It is similar in form to a traditional city, which contains

1. The airport’s aeronautical, logistics, and commercial facilities, anchoring a multimodal, multifunctional airport city as its center; and
2. Outlying corridors and clusters of aviation-oriented businesses and industries, and associated residential developments that feed off each other and their accessibility to the airport and other key transport and urban nodes.

• – Logistics and distribution centres
• – High-value, time-critical manufacturing firms
• – Office buildings and business parks
• – Hotel, convention, and exhibition complexes
• – Tourist and entertainment venues
• – Retail centers and wholesale merchandise marts
• – ICT (digital) and R&D parks
• – Bioscience and medical clusters
• – Higher education campuses
• – Mixed-use commercial/residential developments

The Aerotropolis proposes to provide businesses located near or with good transport access to Suvarnabhumi and U-Tapao Airports with speedy connectivity to their national and worldwide suppliers, customers, clients, and enterprise partners. It also sees the opportunity to draw tourists and attract investment in high-end manufacturing and modern business services by powering up the eastern seaboard airports, seaports, and improved multimodal surface transport connectivity. In the long run, this will greatly benefit the EEC municipalities and provinces. 

EEC Aerotropolis Strategic Objectives

1. Make the EEC the fastest, most agile, and best-connected location to do business in Southeast Asia.
2. Improved surface transportation connects firms more efficiently to key EEC clusters and broader regional markets.
3. Utilize speedy connectivity to attract high-value, time-critical aviation-oriented businesses and industries that will accelerate the growth and modernize the economic base of Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), leading the economic transformation of the nation.
4. Reinforce the above through labor-force upgrading and well- designed aviation-linked urban, commercial, industrial, and tourist clusters that are economically efficient, attractive, and sustainable.
5. Fully leverage the Fifth Wave of transportation-driven development.

Reference:  Aerotropolis Business Concepts by John D. Kasarda, PhD

2019 Children’s Day

In celebration of this year’s Thailand National Children’s Day, the Magna Carta Group, together with the Banglamung District, Pattaya Lawyer’s Council, R.U. Alumni Association Chonburi, and TBTI, joyously distributed stationeries, toys, and candies to the children who participated in this festive event held at Banglamung District Office last January 2. The annual Children’s Day celebration has always been a much-awaited event because all the fun and treats are greatly bringing smiles to all the children’s faces.

Thailand SMART Visa

The Thailand SMART Visa is a new type of visa designed to encourage highly skilled professionals and investors to support the development of Thailand’s targeted industries. SMART Visa is open to foreign specialists, executives, entrepreneurs and investors who want to work or to invest in the 10 S-Curve industries or targeted industries.

Thailand Smart Visa applications will only apply to the ‘S-Curve’ targeted industries:

First S-Curve Industries

• Next-Generation Automotive
• Intelligent Electronics
• Advance Agriculture and Biotechnology
• Food Processing
• High Wealth and Medical Tourism

The Five New S-Curve Industries

• Digital Industry
• Automation and Robotics
• Aviation and Logistics
• Biochemical and Biofuel
• Comprehensive Healthcare Industry

 

Thailand SMART Visa Benefits and Privileges

1. Visa validity up to 4 years (instead of the usual 1 year)
2. No work permit required
3. Extension of reporting of stay to Immigration Bureau – from every 90-day to every year
4. The right of legal dependents (children who are older than 18 years old) of SMART Visa holder to live and work in Thailand equivalent to Smart Visa Holder (this benefit is applicable only to the holder of SMART Visa Type “T” only)
5. Spouse granted permission to work without work permit requirement
6. No re-entry permit required

Thailand SMART Visa categories and qualifications

Talent (SMART “T”)

Highly skilled professionals in the fields of science and technology

• Minimum salary of no less than 200,000 Baht or equivalent per month (exclusive of other benefits and welfares)
• Having an employment contract or service contract with an entity in Thailand with the remaining term of at least 1 year
• Having expertise in science and technology relevant to the targeted industries and endorsed by a government agency (Except for experts who work for a government agency)
• Employers in Thailand must be certified for being engaged in the targeted industries by a relevant government agency such as the National Innovation Agency (Public Organization) and the Digital Economy Promotion Agency. In case of employers being a government agency, the certification of being in the targeted industries shall be done by that agency.
• Smart visa “T”, children have the right to work equivalent to the Visa holder.

Investor (SMART “I”)

Investors in companies using technologies in manufacturing or delivering services and being in the targeted industries

• Directly investing in one or more companies in Thailand using technology as a base in manufacturing or delivering services and are in the targeted industries as an individual investor in the total amount of at least 20 million Baht
• The investment must be maintained throughout the validity period of the smart visa.
• The business to be set up or invested in must be certified as being the ones using technology in manufacturing or delivering services and being in the targeted industries by the relevant agencies such as the National Innovation Agency, Digital Economy Promotion Agency and National Science and Technology Development Agency.

Executive (SMART “E”)

Senior executives working in the companies using technology in manufacturing or delivering services and being in the targeted industries

• Minimum salary of no less than 200,000 Baht or equivalent per month (exclusive of other benefits and welfares)
• Holder of a bachelor’s degree or higher with at least 10 years of work experience in the relevant field
• Having an employment contract with a company in Thailand or in a foreign country with an assignment to work in Thailand. The remaining period of the employment contract must be at least 1 year.
• Holding a senior management position such as Chairman or Managing Director
• The employing companies must be certified as being the ones using technology in manufacturing or delivering services and being in the targeted industries by the relevant agencies such as the National Innovation Agency (Public Organization), Digital Economy Promotion Agency and National Science and Technology Development Agency

Startup (SMART “S”)

Foreign startup entrepreneurs who wish to invest in the targeted industries in Thailand

• Having a fixed savings account in Thailand or in a foreign country with a balance of not less than 600,000 Baht or equivalent and the remaining maturity term of at least 1 year
• In the case of being accompanied by spouses and children, an additional amount of fixed savings of at least 180,000 Baht per person or equivalent is required.
• Having health insurance policy covering the entire course of stay in Thailand for the applicants of the SMART Visa, and for the accompanying spouse and the children
• Participating in an incubation or accelerator program, or a similar program endorsed by a government agency such as the National Innovation Agency (Public Organization), the Digital Economy Promotion Agency. The programs must also be in the targeted industries.
• In case of not participating in an incubator or a similar program, the applicant must receive joint venture funding or endorsed by a government agency such as the Digital Economy Promotion Agency.
• The applicants must set up a company in Thailand within one year. The business or investment activities must be certified as being in the targeted industries by relevant government agencies such as the National Innovation Agency (Public Organization), the Digital Economy Promotion Agency. The applicants must hold no less than 25% of the company’s shares or assume a position of a director of the company.

Others (SMART “O”)

Legal dependents such as spouse and children.

Foreigners wanting to apply for the Thailand Smart Visa will first need to apply for and obtain a Qualification Endorsement letter from the SMART Visa Unit. The SMART Visa Unit will check the application for qualification, and then submit to the relevant government agency for endorsement. The whole process will take around 30 working days.

Please See Related Pages under Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC)

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• Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC)
• Eastern Economic Corridor of Innovation (EECi)
• Digital Park Thailand
• U-Tapao International Airport Development

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