The Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) are considered among the most stringent regulatory agencies in Asia. Alan Adcock and Clemence Gautier of the Regulatory Affairs practice group respond to some of the most frequent questions asked by international clients as they prepare to launch their products in Thailand.

In Vietnam, land prices are used as the basis for calculation of land use fees, which apply mainly to the payment for the allocated land by eligible persons to the State, and land rental, which involves the payment for leased land by land users. Land prices fall under two categories: (1) those stipulated by the State and (2) those calculated on the basis of market price. In order to make the legislation on land prices more in line with market reality, the Government has amended a number of decrees on land prices.

Developing countries that seek to implement compulsory licensing face a crucial dilemma—between greater innovation and greater access. As long as inadequate and inequitable mechanisms to stimulate health research and development (R&D) exist, developing countries should be extremely cautious in undertaking measures, such as compulsory licensing, that could be detrimental to the development of new drugs.

Almost all enterprises have some form of trade secrets concerning their business and day-to-day operations. In the midst of other priorities, however, companies often lose sight of the need to secure proper protection of valuable business secrets, resulting in mismanagement of key intellectual property assets. In today’s highly competitive market environment, identifying business trade secrets and taking proper steps to protect them can be crucial to a company’s success.

Vietnam’s business environment has quickly evolved since its early overhaul or “Doi Moi” process in 1986. Vietnam’s Law on Enterprises and its guiding regulations, the main laws governing the establishment and operation of corporate entities in Vietnam, has been updated frequently to keep pace with changes in business practices and the evolving legal framework. Setting forth key clarifications on the law governing corporate entities, Decree No. 102/2010/ND-CP on guiding the implementation of the Law on Enterprises 2005 (Decree 102) entered into effect on November 15, 2010.

Business activity is on the rise in Thailand as the Department of Business Development (DBD) reports an escalating number of newly incorporated companies and, at the same time, an increasing number of company closures and dormant/defunct companies. The process for closing a company, however, is more complicated and time-consuming than the process of incorporation. To successfully close a company, business owners must be well prepared and informed.

As the world is becoming more globalised, marriage between people of different nationalities is also becoming commonplace. In Thailand, marriages have been taking place between Thai nationals and foreign nationals for many decades. Such international marriages often raise cultural, religious and legal issues for the spouses. Prior to marriage, the spouses will need to decide where they will marry, where they will live and, if they plan to have children, what nationality their children will be and how and where they will be raised.

This chapter provides an overview of the arbitration system in Thailand. The chapter covers laws and institutions, arbitration agreements, arbitral tribunals, procedural issues, and awards, among other areas.