Vovan & Associés,: Legal Services in Thailand

STRATGIES ET MARCHS INTERNATIONAUX THALANDE
Vovan & Associs, legal services in Thailand

Frdric FAVRE, partner and head of Vovan & Associs Thailand Office
Founded sixteen years ago, Vovan offers legal assistance to both local and foreign investors. Thanks to its strategic position in Thailand, which is still the reference for business in Southeast Asia, the office expects to grow even further in the next years.
DR
ovan & Associs opened an office in Bangkok in 1998. Why did you set up in the country? As you may remember, from 1985 to 1996, Thailands economy grew at a rate of 9% per year, which was among the highest economic growth rates at that time. The plan to open an office in Thailand was thought out during that period, in order to take advantage of the booming economy in the context of ASEAN. In 1997, the Asian financial crisis started in Thailand as a result of the collapse of the Thai baht. Thailands booming economy almost came to a halt and our plan was seriously put into question. But we knew about the resilience of the Thai people and we
decided to anticipate the countrys emergence from the economic crisis and contribute by supporting businesses and investors in Thailand and in Southeast Asia. It was a good decision. Thailand is categorized as an upper middle income country and is ranked 18th out of 189 countries in the 2013 and 2014 World Bank Doing Business report. This unchanged ranking for two consecutive years is an excellent performance which establishes Thailand as an attractive destination for business. In Thailand, Vovan & Associs provides customized assistance to investors and acts on behalf of both small and medium size companies and multinationals. Could you tell us more about the services you offer? Vovan & Associs Bangkok has the three licences available for exercising the legal professions in Thailand. Therefore, we can offer comprehensive legal services to foreign and local clients. Our areas of expertise include:
for Thailand and ASEAN: Investment Law, Commercial Law, Company Law, mergers and acquisitions, construction and infrastructure law, Energy, International Arbitration, assistance to governments for legal and regulatory institutional reforms. for Thailand: Tax and Labour law, Immigration, Real Estate Law, Family law, Notary Public, Intellectual Property, Debt Collection, Litigation. Besides, we are members of the online international network Legalink (http://www.legalink.ch), a nonexclusive, legal network of over 60 independent business oriented law firms with members from the majority of the worlds main commercial centres. What are the profiles and expectations of your clients? Our client portfolio has been developed in European businesses in Asia in general and particularly in Thailand. European companies and investors are part of the economic success story in Thailand. Our clients come
3 E TRIMESTRE 2012
France
from various sectors of the economy and include organizations, companies and private investors mainly from the trade, industry and service sectors. Most clients are interested in more than one legal area of assistance. Our approach is to integrate the cultural factors that can affect their business in our range of services. Clients priorities change over the life cycles of their projects. Our assistance to an industrial investment also fluctuat es with project phases, from intense work to additional requests and then down to annual review. Given the strategic position of Thailand in Southeast Asia, we also provide services about neighbouring countries, such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
Which advice would you give an entrepreneur wishing to set up a business project in Thailand? To sum up the Dos & Donts, we would recommend entrepreneurs to carefully consider their projects from different angles. First, from a business point of view, with market access, the entrepreneurs competitive edge and his or her actual expertise, and then from a legal compliance point of view. We educate entrepreneurs to better assess the balance of rules and power between foreign investors and local partners, to anticipate the phasing in of the investment by milestones, and finally to understand the governance and compliance safety nets. Issues such as immigration, work permits, foreign investment regulations, company creation, ownership and control, land and immovable pro-
perty ownership are among the topics requiring attention from the successful entrepreneur. Getting input and support from an experienced law firm is recommended. What are your prospects for further growth in Thailand? Despite the current political situation in early 2014, Thailand is still the reference as the country with a strategic position for business in Southeast Asia. With the upcoming ASEAN Economic Community and the EuroThailand F ree Trade Agreement, opportunities for business will increase and the need for legal services at the regional level will grow. Emerging countries like Myanmar are increasingly attractive. Therefore, we are now positioning Vovan & Associs in each of these jurisdictions, to be able to grow with the region.
VOVAN & ASSOCIS

WWW.VOVAN-LAWGROUP.COM
LAW GROUP
LAW GROUP
MEMBER OF
VOVAN & ASSOCIES contribue activement la Chambre de Commerce Francaise en Thailande et au Myanmar, la Chambre de Commerce International (section Thailande), la section Thailande des CCEF, la chambre europenne en Thailande, a lInstitut Thailandais des Administrateurs, au Comit de Solidarit Franco-Thai et la fondation Asie-Afrique. DOMAINES DEXPERTISE : Droit des affaires et des socits droit social et immigration fiscalit contrats licences investissements, fusions, acquisitions et restructurations transports, logistique et distribution transactions et droit commercial accords de libre changes construction et infrastructure nergie appels doffres, concessions, partenariat public priv recouvrements et faillites contentieux, arbitrage, mdiation harmonisation du droit et intgration rgionale formation continue et rformes juridiques dans les pays en transitions.
VOVAN & ASSOCIES est un cabinet davocats thalandais fond en 1998 Bangkok par le cabinet parisien du mme nom. VOVAN & ASSOCIES (Bangkok) est une quipe davocats inscrits en France, aux Etats Unis, en Thailande et au Myanmar, exerant en permamence partir de Bangkok, Phuket, Vientiane et Yangon. Paralllement, une division Afrique est venue rpondre lattente de la clientle asiatique. Membre actif de LEGALINK, rseau mondial de cabinets indpendants, VOVAN & ASSOCIES (Bangkok) gre les demandes et coordonne les interventions relatives aux 10 pays membres de lASEAN. Titulaire des 3 licences du barreau de Thailande (avocats la cour; proprit intellectuelle/brevet; certications notariales) VOVAN & ASSOCIES (Bangkok) intervient sur un large ventail de sujets relatifs aux investissements et socits commerciales et procure une assistance personalise de la petite entreprise la multinationale. Le cabinet a mis en place galement une quipe spcialise en droit international dans le domaine patrimonial (droit immobilier et droit de la famille). Le bureau de Bangkok offre des services juridiques sur mesure et reste lcoute des besoins de ses clients dans un environnement rgional en mutation rapide.

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STRATGIES ET MARCHS INTERNATIONAUX THALANDE

Vovan & Associs, legal services in Thailand

VOVAN & ASSOCIS

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