Surat Thani officials are moving to revoke land rights held by companies on Koh Pha Ngan after an investigation found 112 entities with foreign shareholdings exceeding the legal limit.
Surat Thani Governor Jumpot Wannachatsiri has ordered officials to proceed with action against the landholdings as part of an ongoing crackdown on corporate land ownership on the island.
Officials examined 1,832 entities holding land on the island. Of those, 93.9% were classified as general entities, while 5.7%, or 112 entities, had foreign shareholdings exceeding the limit prescribed by law. A further 0.4% had already been ordered by the governor to dispose of their land.
Of the 112 entities found with foreign shareholdings above the legal threshold, 104 were identified through inspections while eight had already been subject to court rulings.
Together, the 112 entities hold 124 land plots covering approximately 86.86 rai.
Officials are currently considering disposal orders for 28 of the entities. Another 76 cases are being reviewed by the Koh Pha Ngan branch land office before being submitted for disposal proceedings.
Jumpot has already issued disposal orders against eight entities covering nine land plots.
Relevant agencies will continue investigating and following up on the remaining cases within the timeframes required by law, with officials saying the measures are intended to protect national interests.
In a separate report, the director of Thailand’s Land Department stated that foreign nationals own only six percent of land on Koh Pha Ngan, following growing concerns among residents about increasing foreign influence on the island.
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The story 112 Koh Pha Ngan firms risk losing land over foreign shareholdings as seen on Thaiger News.
