Business Hours

Corporate Structure

Agreement & Negotiation

Knowling People

Business Meetings

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Business Hours:

• Most businesses are open weekdays from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.
• Government offices are open weekdays from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, with an hour lunch break at noon.
• Banks are open weekdays from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm.
• Department Stores are open daily from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm and sometimes until 9:00 pm

Other shops are open daily from 9:00 am or 10:00 am to 8:00 pm

Corporate Structure

• The typical Business Company in Thailand is headed by the managing director and/or general manager. This person has the same status and duties as a President or CEO in a Western company.
• Many of the country’s largest businesses are owned and/or operated by people of Chinese or Sino-Thai heritage. As in most Asian countries, family links remain an important part of the business culture. Many Thai firms are centralized and have a hands-on style of mangement. In most companies, the more senior officers retain the authority and responsibility.

Negotiation

• In general, doing business is a lengthy, drawn-out process because the concept of time in Thailand is very elastic. Do not expect quick decisions and do not expect to finalize transactions with dispatch.
• Different Thai ethnic groups conduct business differently; often the educational level and degree of international exposure of your counterparts will affect their attitudes and styles.
• Thais place great importance on politeness and maintain a calm professional composure. Never lose your temper publicly for both you and your counterpart will lose face. If you do have an outburst, use a smile or a joke to mitigate the effects of any negative situation. Maintaining group harmony and avoiding conflict are critical to Thai people.
• Thai rarely criticize, it can be very difficult to obtain honest feedback about your proposals, products, or business ideas. They may not want to give you negative views or alert you to problems. To counter this problem, ask indirect questions.
• The Thais’ favorite saying "mai pen rai" or "never mind, it’s okay" often applies to business issues. Accordingly, Thais tend to be less concerned about meeting deadlines and general productivity than most Westerners. This casual attitude sometimes encourages carelessness in their approach to details. It is important to use your local representative or agent to keep Thai attention focused on your transaction on a regular basis. Unfortunately keeping your Thai representative or agent focused maybe equally difficult.

Contracts are usually written in Thai as well as in English.

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