Thailand’s Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob said yesterday, August 20, that he does not support allowing Starlink to operate in the country under a fully foreign-owned structure, insisting Thai partners must hold a majority stake.
Chaichanok said the government’s position remains that Thai shareholders should hold more than 50%, under a 51:49 structure. This follows the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999), which classifies a Thai-registered company as a foreign entity if foreigners hold half or more of its capital.
He added that a different arrangement could work if Starlink is willing to transfer technology and bring in a Thai partner to help run the business.
“If Starlink is allowed to hold 100% of shares, I’m confident no company could compete with them. What I’m protecting isn’t technology or progress; it’s Thailand’s future opportunities in the market, covering data, pricing, quality and production capacity.
“If they are sincere and willing to transfer technology with a Thai partner on board, we can accept that. But if it comes as 100% foreign ownership, I can’t allow it, though I’m ready to hear other views on this,” Chaichanok said.
He said Starlink’s strength in technology, pricing, quality and production capacity would make it difficult for other operators to compete against, and that fully foreign ownership could limit future opportunities for Thai telecom and satellite businesses, alongside data and security concerns.
The issue was also raised at the first National Space Policy Committee meeting of the year on August 17, which discussed landing rights for foreign satellite operators and a draft Space Business Act. The direction under discussion still favours Thai companies holding a majority stake.
Asked to compare the situation with state-owned National Telecom (NT), Chaichanok said the two serve different purposes. He said the government isn’t trying to build a satellite communications system to compete directly with global providers, but wants Thailand to have its own infrastructure to fall back on during emergencies or if external providers stop offering service.
Interest in Starlink’s entry into Thailand has resurfaced after the service launched commercially in Vietnam on August 13. Starlink still has no commercial service available to the public in Thailand, prompting online questions about what is holding up its entry, with the shareholding structure repeatedly cited as one sticking point.
The story Thailand blocks Starlink’s bid for full foreign ownership as seen on Thaiger News.
