Our Partners in Southeast Asia
TCCLegal works with partner firms across Southeast Asia that provide legal and consulting services to international businesses in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (the “Thailand-Plus-CLMV” region) and in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand (the “ASEAN 5”).
The core services we provide in Southeast Asia are business law and dispute resolution services such as: company formation, assistance with negotiations, drafting commercial contracts, employment related work, mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, due diligence, trademark registrations, litigation, arbitration and mediation, advisory work on inbound investments, international trade, applications for work permit and industry specific licenses and assistance with property sales and purchases.
Doing Business in Thailand and Surrounding Countries – “Thai + CLMV”
As the Chinese market has matured, to lower costs or reduce over-dependence on China many of our international clients have adopted a “China-Plus-One” strategy, which is jargon for Asian investment shifting from being mostly about China, to China plus another key location in Asia. This strategy has worked well for our Japanese clients, many of which focused on making Thailand the additional key location in Asia for business expansion.
Similar to the situation in China that led Japanese businesses to adopt a “China-Plus-One” business model, wage inflation and labour shortages have recently encouraged Japanese businesses to adopt a “Thailand-Plus-One” business model. Under this model, Japanese companies operating in Thailand transfer labor-intensive parts of their businesses to nearby Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam while corporate headquarters and/or major production bases remain in Thailand. This same business model has also been referred to as the “Thailand-Plus-CLMV” model. We are confident that Thailand will emerge as a hub for Southeast Asia-based businesses and our Thailand office is focusing on providing legal and consulting services to small and medium-sized businesses investing into or expanding operations in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Ideal Timing for Investments into Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam
- Advantageous labor, economic and investment policies and the potential for rapid-growth in the CLMV countries
- Manufacturing costs are lower in Thai + CLMV in comparison to China, where wages and the cost of business is rising
- Transportation infrastructure linking Thailand to the CLMV countries is improving and under constant development
- As the ASEAN business community continues to come together, Thailand has become an important logistics, trading and financial hub for businesses investing into Southeast Asia
- Once a road link to Dawei, Myanmar is completed, it will be easy to export goods from Thailand to India, the Middle East and Africa without having to pass through the Strait of Malacca
- Growth rates in CLMV countries during recent years have exceeded those of the original ASEAN countries as these countries make the transition to middle-income status
- Political conditions in the CLMV and ASEAN countries are constantly improving
- Governments are making proactive efforts to attract foreign investment in a variety of business sectors
- The modernization of Thailand and its continual improvements in services, entertainment, hospitality and public transit sectors, not to mention the warm hospitality of Thai people, has and continues to increase Thailand’s appeal
- If the ten ASEAN member states were one single country, it would already be the seventh largest economy in the world, and as its legal and financial systems continue to improve and the countries become more integrated, there will be a multitude of business opportunities for foreign investors as the economies of ASEAN states continue to grow