Like so many of us here in Thailand, Thai and foreigner alike, for the past several months I have been observing, listening, watching, and reading about the protests against the seated government of this country. As occurs elsewhere throughout this world of ours, Thai national and local politics are convoluted, complex, and not always what you see or think.

Among its many legal reforms now underway, Myanmar is beginning to develop new systems for the protection of intellectual property rights. Historically, there have not been any specific IP laws in Myanmar. Instead, IP owners have needed to rely on other systems of registration in order to protect their rights. But in a demonstration of its commitment to provide full protection for IP rights, the country is now drafting and reviewing its first Trademark Law.Existing Legal Regime – Registration Act

Legal duties of directors are “must do’s,” and good corporate governance (CG) principles are “should do’s.” Thus, a breach of legal duties leads to liability (civil and/or criminal), while mere noncompliance with CG principles does not.

Generally speaking, Specific Business Tax (SBT) is an alternative tax that is levied on certain types of businesses—particularly those in the financial services sectors. It was first introduced in tandem with the value-added tax (VAT) regime in 1992. The method for collecting SBT can be likened to that of sales tax, which was used in Thailand in the previous incarnation of indirect tax collection, before VAT.

“Begin with the End in Mind” is the second habit in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey. In a lawyer’s mind, everything must end badly. This is not because we truly believe that all transactions are destined to fail, but because we owe it to our clients to consider and prepare for the worst, so they can focus on the future potential of the deal at hand.

The key to developing a successful business lies not only with having good entrepreneurial spirit and skills, but also with having sound knowledge of the laws and regulations that affect you and your company. To help business owners understand and navigate the ever-shifting legal landscape, Practical Law Company, in association with Lex Mundi, has published the latest edition in its series of multi-jurisdictional question-and-answer guides to doing business worldwide.

Cynthia M. Pornavalai and Ahmet Yesilkaya, partner and consultant in Tilleke & Gibbins’ corporate and commercial group, have coauthored the Thailand chapter of Getting the Deal Through – Real Estate 2014, a guide to real estate in 28 jurisdictions worldwide. The chapter provides an insight into real estate ownership and investment in Thailand, and it examines foreign investment law in terms of liability, choice of law, and important considerations when investing in Thailand. In particular, the chapter covers the following topics:

The evolution of real property financing in Thailand—from primarily bank loans to rigid property funds to the proposed real estate investment trusts (REITs)—reflects the liberalisation of the Thai market, the need for alternative funding options, and the need for the country to maintain its regional competitiveness.The Capital Market Supervisory Board under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued regulations last year governing the issuance and offering of REITs in Thailand. The regulations took effect on Jan 1 this year.