The Regulatory and Commercial Environment for Franchising in Thailand in the Wake of the ASEAN Integrating Market

Abstract

The franchising sector in Thailand is a fast growing economic sector which is potentially enlarged by the imminent ASEAN market integration in 2015. This leads to significant consideration on the regulatory and commercial environment which plays considerable roles for shaping and supporting the franchising sector in Thailand in the wake of the ASEAN integrating market. Thus, this paper aims to explore the current Thai regulatory and commercial environment for franchising with regard to the ASEAN single market. The paper presents a challenging issue whether there is a lack of specific law for franchising in Thailand. The paper concludes with recommendations that there should be a unified regulation which helps facilitate the development of the franchising sector in Thailand or alternatively, to confer authoritative power to the Department of Business Development to act as an agency governing and promoting the franchising sector in Thailand.