Online platforms & marketplaces
Connecting freelancers, service providers, or vendors with customers through a website or app raises structure and licensing questions a standard company registration doesn't. Coordinated with Walailak Law Firm, a licensed Thai law firm.
One point of contact, from your first message to a live platform.
Platform and marketplace businesses raise a different question than a typical company registration — because what counts as a restricted service business depends on exactly how your platform operates.
Thailand's Foreign Business Act generally restricts foreign ownership of service businesses, and a platform that connects service providers — freelancers, massage therapists, delivery drivers, booking services, and similar — with customers can fall into that category depending on how it's structured. Some platforms qualify for BOI (Board of Investment) promotion instead, which can allow full foreign ownership without a Foreign Business License. The right answer depends on your specific business model: what you connect, how payment flows through the platform, and whether you provide the underlying service yourself or only the technology connecting people to it. This is a structural decision worth getting from a licensed lawyer before you build, not after.
How Haven Siam helps
We're not a law firm, and we don't pretend to be. Business structure, Foreign Business Act questions, and licensing are coordinated directly with Walailak Law Firm — you get one point of contact managing the timeline and translating progress, while the actual legal work is done by people licensed to do it. In parallel, Haven Siam builds the platform itself: your website or web app, domain, hosting, and content localized for Thai, English, and French audiences — so your legal structure and your product move forward together instead of one waiting on the other.
Common questions
Can I own 100% of an online platform or marketplace business in Thailand?
It depends on how the platform is structured and what it actually does — some marketplace models qualify for full foreign ownership via BOI, others don't. This is worth confirming with a lawyer before you commit to a structure.
Do I need a special license to run a marketplace or booking platform?
Possibly, depending on the service category your platform connects customers to. We'll flag this early and bring in Walailak Law Firm for a definitive answer specific to your platform.
Can you build the platform itself, not just handle the company structure?
Yes — the website or web app, domain, hosting, and multilingual content are part of what Haven Siam delivers directly, independent of how the legal structure resolves.
Tell us what your platform connects and how it works, and we'll tell you what setup actually looks like for you.
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