Following the Phuket boat tragedy, the Commerce Ministry has vowed to step up inspections of business owners, particularly in tourism, property and farming, to root out foreign operators using Thai nominees.
Kulanee Issadisai, director-general of the Business Development Department, said since 2015 authorities have investigated 2,136 juristic persons whose ownership is less than 50% held by foreigners, finding 1,783 to have properly registered with Thai authorities.
Twenty-one firms were found to have unclear office locations, with 34 using nominees to operate the business, mostly in tourism and property located in tourism hotspots, though no lawsuits have been filed by authorities.
Mrs Kulanee said over the past four years, the department has filed lawsuits against 298 firms that were found to violate the Foreign Business Act by using Thai proxy owners.
This year, its investigations have yielded two business operators in Phuket -- one a restaurant owner and the other a car rental firm -- allegedly using Thai nominee owners. No lawsuits have been filed yet, she said.
This month authorities are investigating one tourism-related business operator and a fruit dealer in Chumphon, said Mrs Kulanee.
In a related development, the department Wednesday reported new business registration edged down by 0.2% year-on-year in June to 6,514, but rose 11% from May. Registered capital totalled 24.6 billion baht, down 40% from June last year.
The top three businesses registered remained general construction, real estate, and restaurant and food outlets.
For the first six months this year, new business registration totalled 37,548, up 4% year-on-year, with a combined registered capital of 143 billion baht, down 12%.
"The department believes new business registrations will continue increasing in the remaining months as the country's growing economy is boosted by exports and tourism," she said. "Higher government and private investment, recovering consumer consumption and rising farm prices are also key drivers."
Mrs Kulanee said the government's aid package for low-income earners using smartcards is expected to boost domestic consumption. The cabinet in January approved 35.7 billion baht for the second phase of the welfare scheme, aiming to lift 1 million people out of poverty. The government is set to allocate 35.7 billion baht to finance 34 projects.
The department projects the minimum number of business registrations this year will be 80,000, she said.