HSBC urges one-stop service for IHQ procedures

Thailand is becoming a regional hub for trading and financial services of multinational companies after the Cabinet adjusted tax measures to make the country on par with Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia to support the setting up of IHQs here.
Applicants seeking to open an IHQ must have minimum registered capital of Bt10 million with at least one overseas business entity or affiliated branch and minimum Bt15 million annual operating expenses for the headquarters being set up here.
Krisda Phatcharoen, head of commercial banking at HSBC Thailand, said many Thai companies and multinationals had shown keen interest in setting up IHQs here, especially in the manufacturing and service sectors.
The interested companies have to deal with four state agencies – the Ministry of Commerce, the Revenue Department, the Board of Investment and the Bank of Thailand. He said these procedures should be combined as a one-stop service.
The BOT has a role in encouraging IHQs after giving the green light to multinational companies and large Thai corporates with overseas networks to set up treasury centres in Thailand to support the operation of their affiliates and subsidiaries worldwide in financial liquidity and foreign-exchange risk management.
HSBC Thailand has been active as a financial adviser to large Thai and foreign companies wanting to establish their IHQs in Thailand. It believes IHQs will increase the volume of financial transactions in Thailand. Krisda said Thai conglomerates that had regional headquarters in Singapore were expected to move them back to Thailand, followed by multinational companies.
Singapore is currently the Asean hub for IHQs and RHQs. About 4,000 companies have established RHQs there, compared with fewer than 200 in Thailand.
But he said Thailand could be the IHQ/RHQ hub for companies in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. The government has adopted a policy to promote this country as a base for IHQs instead of Singapore or Hong Kong.