Thailand is advancing a private trust legislative framework designed to attract cross-border wealth flows, positioning Bangkok as a credible alternative to established regional booking centres such as Singapore and Hong Kong. The proposal, currently under regulatory review, would create a statutory trust structure that foreign principals and family offices could use to hold and manage assets across multiple asset classes, including real estate, private equity, and listed securities, under Thai law.

For principals already reviewing jurisdictional diversification, the timing is material. Singapore's Variable Capital Company (VCC) and Hong Kong's Open-ended Fund Company (OFC) structures have set a high bar for regulatory clarity and institutional credibility. Thailand's move signals that Southeast Asian governments are competing more aggressively for the governance infrastructure, not just the capital, that accompanies ultra-high-net-worth families and their advisers. If the framework passes in a form that provides enforceable beneficiary protections, clear trustee liability standards, and tax treatment comparable to peer jurisdictions, it could expand the set of viable structures available to multi-jurisdictional family offices operating across ASEAN.

The proposed framework is reported to address several structural gaps that have historically limited Thailand's appeal as a wealth domicile. Key elements under discussion include:

• A dedicated private trust statute with defined settlor, trustee, and beneficiary rights
• Provisions for foreign asset holding within the trust wrapper
• Tax treatment aligned to attract non-resident settlors
• Regulatory oversight designed to meet international compliance standards, including FATF requirements
• Potential linkage to Thailand's existing long-term resident visa programme for qualifying principals

Thailand's Department of Revenue and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand are understood to be among the agencies involved in shaping the framework. No final legislative timetable has been confirmed, and the detail on tax treatment for foreign settlors, a critical variable for family office structuring decisions, remains subject to further consultation. Principals and their advisers should treat current reporting as indicative rather than final, and monitor official gazette announcements before making any structuring decisions.

Why it matters: A credible Thai trust statute would give ASEAN-based family offices a new onshore option for succession planning, asset segregation, and multi-generational governance, functions currently routed almost exclusively through Singapore, Hong Kong, or offshore centres such as the British Virgin Islands. Even at the proposal stage, the development warrants attention from governance committees reviewing their jurisdictional mix, particularly those with existing operating presence or real-asset exposure in Thailand. The competitive pressure on MAS and SFC to maintain their structural advantages is also worth noting: regional trust competition is intensifying, and principals benefit from that dynamic.