Amendments to Condo Law to Affect Lower Income Buyers

9 February 2011

New Amendments to the Condominium law are being scheduled by the Land Department in order to provide more protection to buyers, including a regulation of a minimum of 30 square meters per unit.

The director of the Land Department stated that some developers are going around the law by remodeling old town houses or other low-rise buildings into condos that are then sold to foreigners. He also wants to prevent developers from making any rooms under 30 square meters in size, such as 10 or 20 square meter rooms, as this causes the living standard of the occupants to be lowered.

Property developers have claimed that if the minimum size of space is set to 30 square meters, this will affect buyers with less income. They also state that their business model can be revised to fall in line with changes in the law, but the Land Department should also take into consideration the purchasing power of buyers before altering the condo law. Presently, 22 square meter condominiums are valued between 600,000 baht to 700,000 baht per unit.

If the condo law is altered, the per unit cost would be hiked up by about 36 percent, driving a price increase to around 1 million baht to 1.5 million baht.

At the present time, the Board of Investment provides tax privileges for units of at least 28 square meters in size within a condominium project.

Ministry Vows IPR Crackdown

4 February 2011

Individuals who violate intellectual property rights in Thailand face a higher chance of a crackdown, as the country‘s Ministry vowed to try to improve Thailand’s international image to local and foreign producers. The aim is to decrease the intellectual property right violation rate by 30 percent in 2011, to curtail losses.

An action plan along with a stated target will be provided to the Intellectual Property Rights Committee today, which is chaired by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
The IPR infringement has caused such dramatic losses that private enterprises drafted the proposal.

In effect of the plan, the Thai government will create an independent task force to suppress IPR violations. The force will be comprised by the Royal Thai Police and the Department of Special Investigation. The intended crackdown zones will include Sukhumvit Road, Patpong Night Market and Pantip Plaza.

5,171 cases of IPR violation were reported last year, and the Royal Thai Police, the DSI and the Customs Department  confiscated 4.3 million goods.  Violations appearing on the internet made up at least 40 percent.

A discussion of the creation of three subcommittees to be focused on promoting protection of Thai folk knowledge and culture and genetic resources will also be discussed in today’s meeting, in order to gain international acceptance in the World Trade Organization.

Thailand to Discuss Changes to FTA with Australia  

3 February 2011

Talks between Thailand and Australia are soon to begin concerning revisions to their free-trade agreement, which has been in place for five years.

The talks will revolve around cancelling non-tariff barriers and increasing cooperation between the two countries regarding the promotion of trade and service growth. Markets in the two countries would be opened up to allow the flow of more goods and services.

Thailand will discuss widening its options in the Australian market for fresh foods, including shrimp and chicken, as well as mangosteen, after they reach a wall of high sanitary standards, even with no duties enforced.

Thailand will also ask Australia to enable Thai chefs to work in the country on contracts offering more flexibility, as Australia currently requires all chefs to take an English language skills test before a visa is offered. Few Thai chefs can actually pass this test, even though Thai restaurants are allowed to open in Australia.  

After the Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement was established in 2005, significant growth in two way trade has been witnessed as evidenced by the tripling of trade between the two countries from 2005 - 2009. In 2010, two-way trade vastly increased 24.19 per cent to $15.33 billion, with Thailand reaping a trade surplus.

Some examples of potential Thai exports to Australia include steel, jewelry and ornaments, air conditioners, computers and parts, automobiles and parts, plastics, canned and processed seafood, glasses and mirrors and rubber products.