The US-Thailand Treaty of Amity: how a US-owned company can run a Phangan brokerage or property-management business 100% — but still can't own the land

Can a US citizen own 100% of a real estate brokerage or property-management company on Koh Phangan, when Thai law otherwise requires Thai-majority ownership for exactly that kind of business? For a US national or a US-majority company, yes — through a specific, long-standing treaty exemption, not a loophole. The 1966 Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations between Thailand and the United States lets a qualifying US-owned company bypass the Foreign Business Act's Thai-majority rule for most service businesses, including real estate brokerage, property management, and hotel operation. What it does not do is change who can own Thai land itself — that stays governed by the Land Code exactly as it does for every other foreign-linked structure.

What the Treaty of Amity actually exempts

• Legal basis — the Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations, signed in Bangkok on 29 May 1966, grants US citizens and US-majority companies "national treatment": the right to operate a business in Thailand on largely the same footing as a Thai national, rather than as a restricted foreigner.
• The statutory hook is Foreign Business Act Section 8 — the FBA itself carves out an exemption for foreigners operating businesses covered by a treaty Thailand is party to, governing them instead under that treaty's own terms.
• What this bypasses: List 3 of the FBA restricts real estate brokerage/agency business, hotel business, and a broad "other service businesses" catch-all to Thai nationals or Thai-majority companies — the same List 3 restriction covered in the real-estate-agent restrictions guide. An Amity-certified company is exempt from that restriction for these activities.
• Ownership threshold: a minimum of 51% of shares must be held by US citizens or US-registered entities. Sources differ slightly on the exact director-composition rule beyond that, so a specific structure's director makeup should be confirmed with a lawyer before relying on it.

What it doesn't touch: land ownership

Several sectors are explicitly excluded from Amity treatment regardless of US ownership: communications and telecommunications, domestic transportation, deposit-taking banking, exploitation of land or other natural resources, domestic trade in indigenous agricultural products — and land ownership itself. Land Code Section 86 allows a foreigner to acquire land only by virtue of a treaty that specifically grants that right, and no such treaty exists today for any country, the United States included (the last treaty provision of that kind was effectively terminated around 1970). An Amity-protected company therefore still needs the same registered lease, superficies, or 49/51 structure as any other foreign-linked entity to hold Thai land — the treaty changes who can run the business, not who can own the ground it operates on.

How a company gets Amity-certified

• Apply through the US Commercial Service or the US Embassy in Bangkok, submitting proof of US citizenship and the company's ownership structure.
• Receive an Amity certification letter from the US side confirming the company qualifies.
• Register the certification with Thailand's Department of Business Development (DBD), under the Ministry of Commerce, so the company is formally recognised as exempt from the relevant FBA restrictions.
• Budget for processing time — commonly reported at around four to eight weeks — and confirm current minimum capital requirements with a Thai corporate lawyer, since reported figures vary by source.

Practical implications for a Phangan buyer or business owner

• If you're a US citizen considering running your own brokerage or property-management company on the island, rather than just renting out your own villa, Amity certification is the one legitimate route to 100% US ownership of that business — worth raising with a lawyer before assuming a 49/51 structure is your only option.
• If you're evaluating a property-management or brokerage company that claims full foreign ownership, ask to see its Amity Treaty certificate and DBD registration rather than taking the claim at face value — a company simply calling itself "foreign-owned" without Amity certification is operating outside the FBA's List 3 rules.
• Don't assume Amity solves land ownership. A US-owned Amity company that legitimately runs your rental portfolio or brokered your purchase still cannot hold Phangan land in its own name any more than a Thai company with foreign shareholders can — the lease/superficies/49-51 toolkit is unavoidable either way.
• Non-US buyers get no benefit from this route. The Treaty of Amity is a bilateral US-Thailand instrument with no equivalent for other nationalities, who remain subject to the ordinary FBA List 3 Thai-majority rule for brokerage and property-management businesses.

The Treaty of Amity is a genuine, 60-year-old exception — not a workaround discovered by a marketing site — but it's narrow: it changes who can own the business operating on Koh Phangan's real estate market, not who can own the real estate itself. Anyone relying on it, on either side of a brokerage or property-management relationship, should verify the certificate and DBD registration directly rather than taking a company's word for it.