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Posted on 13 Apr 2025
36550
During the beginning of this year,
we started to see Chinese people looking for houses and condos in various zones.
Then people started asking:
“What exactly are these Chinese coming here to do?”
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We must first divide them into two types:
the “white” (legit) and the “gray.”
If I were to explain everything, it would take forever.
So this time, I’ll explain only the “gray” part first.
Let’s go... dive in!!!
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When Chinese people come in,
they usually enter under 3 visa types:
student, tourist, and business.
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But it’s not always true that they come for the visa type they claim.
Many who come to do business enter as students.
Or if they intend to do serious business and think they’ll go in and out of the country frequently,
they go for the Elite visa straight away.
The visa cost varies depending on the type.
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But the real highlight right now
is Chinese people coming to do hidden businesses in Thailand.
Based on data collected over 8 months,
I’ll explain what kinds of hidden businesses Chinese people are doing in Thailand.
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Tour businesses (“Zero-dollar tours”)
Yes… they’re back again.
They come in as companies with Thai nominees holding shares.
But those Thai nominees have no power or benefits in the company at all
(as there’s a separate contract signed in advance).
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This group takes Chinese tourists around Bangkok and major cities,
visiting landmark spots at each location.
But behind every place, there’s a Chinese operator.
So the revenue doesn’t reach Thai locals as it should.
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Restaurant businesses
We see this a lot.
Chinese people opening restaurants in Thailand.
Like in Huai Khwang where I live —
Pracharat Bamphen Road nowadays has turned into full rows of restaurants and shops.
Just driving past,
you come home smelling like mala every day.
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But it’s noticeable
that some restaurants have no customers at all
but still manage to stay open every day.
What’s really behind these businesses?
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Mainly, it’s money laundering.
It’s a way to divert financial flows on the books.
Income and expenses from other businesses get moved into these restaurant accounts.
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If you look only at the numbers,
you can’t tell whether anyone actually visits the place.
So having a physical storefront works perfectly to legitimize the cash flow.
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Real estate businesses
Chinese people come to bulk-buy condos, houses,
even buying out whole floors or big lots in almost entire projects,
to rent them out later.
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This might look good from a developer’s perspective,
as projects get sold out quickly.
But they don’t realize
it destroys the rental market prices for Thai investors in the long term.
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Thais focus on investment returns, calculating yield as the main factor.
Chinese investors don’t care about yield.
They only look for steady monthly cash flow — that’s enough.
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So rental prices get dumped by 20–30%,
even dropping 50% during COVID,
compared to what they should be.
In the end, Thai investors find it harder to rent out.
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Chinese investors with massive capital
often use real estate as a vehicle for money laundering,
as this sector can easily absorb large money volumes.
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Language schools
This business looks the cleanest on the surface.
But in reality,
it’s used to facilitate illegal visa arrangements for Chinese nationals.
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Hotels
Recently, we’ve seen more Chinese people asking to rent or buy
hotels, hostels, entire buildings, or multiple condos in various locations,
to use as Airbnbs.
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From a business perspective, this might be acceptable.
As long as it’s not a condo, Thai law allows other property types to operate short-term rentals.
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But the cheapest way to do Airbnb
is to use condos for short-term stays.
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If it were a house or hostel,
you’d still have maintenance costs —
things like house exteriors, entrances, lifts, stairs, or co-working spaces.
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But condos don’t have these costs,
because common area fees are already included in the rental fee.
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Entertainment venues/KTV (karaoke)
After COVID ended,
we saw agents searching for land or rental spaces
to run nightlife entertainment venues —
especially in Thonglor, Ekkamai, Phrom Phong, Ratchada, Huai Khwang.
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Today, almost all such businesses are owned by Chinese investors.
Some kept their old Thai names,
others rebranded.
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This business started creeping in
since one Ratchada club became super successful,
which drew more Chinese interest.
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Combined with the COVID period,
many Thai owners got tired of dealing with local authorities.
That was the perfect moment for Chinese investors to take over many businesses
during the early months of this year.
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This type of business hides everywhere:
entertainment venues,
shophouses, commercial buildings, townhouses,
even luxury houses worth tens of millions.
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At one point, problems escalated —
with drugs of various types entering the scene.
Many Chinese operators were smart enough
to know whom to "clear" with, whom to pay off.
With “gray” Chinese capital being 3–5 times stronger than Thai capital,
we all know how it ends.
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Car rental business
I’ve seen many wealthy Chinese customers —
not necessarily "gray" Chinese, but also regular tourists —
why do they prefer MPV vans, like Alphard, Vellfire, Hyundai H1?
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You don’t see them driving sedans or SUVs like Thais.
Because MPVs represent a status symbol among Chinese —
a sign of wealth.
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So the car rental business has grown rapidly.
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Naturally, Chinese entrepreneurs partner with Thai partners,
buying fleets to rent out,
targeting tour groups and mid-to-high-end business clients.
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Fruit import-export
Three years ago,
we started seeing investor orders
for durian orchards around Rayong and Chanthaburi.
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That’s because Thai fruits are very popular among Chinese.
They poured huge money into buying up durian orchards,
as well as other fruits popular back home.
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Selling Thai fruits to China is worth more than selling to Thais locally.
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80% of orchard and farm owners already had debts,
so they sold land to Chinese capital (via Thai nominees)
to clear those debts.
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Today, Thai farmers have become laborers
working for Chinese bosses almost entirely.
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Online gambling
In China, gambling is a legal business,
and it makes massive profits quickly.
Many Chinese investors move this gambling money into Thailand businesses.
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Many even initially intended to open real casinos here,
but later learned casinos are illegal in Thailand.
So they switched to online gambling,
hiring Thai admin and marketing teams.
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Call center / scammer business
This is still widespread.
With our personal data leaked
and sold by state officials for just hundreds of thousands of baht, as reported.
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This is actually a business no one wants to do.
Even Thais don’t want to scam fellow Thais.
But why do we see Thais working in these call centers?
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This leads to the next type of business.
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Kidnapping and ransom
This is clearly an illegal, dark business,
even local officials don’t want to touch it.
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People with some wealth become targets for kidnapping and ransom.
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For Thais who default on underground loans,
reporting to police or courts doesn’t help —
if the debtor has no money,
filing won’t get your money back.
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So they kidnap debtors,
or small-time thieves damaging gray businesses,
and force them into labor.
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They’re forced to work along border zones,
running call centers to scam Thais,
then using that scam money to repay debts.
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These operations are brutal.
Those who resist or miss quotas
get tortured — beaten, electrocuted, or scalded, as seen in viral clips.
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Surrogacy
Because Chinese nationals can’t fully own assets or businesses in Thailand,
they approach Thai women,
who often don’t know the full story,
and marry them.
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These Thai women may or may not realize
it’s not real love but a mutual benefit arrangement.
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They might agree to carry a child,
stage a wedding and legally register it,
to appear legitimate.
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In reality, these gray Chinese investors want heirs
to inherit assets and businesses under their child’s name.
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Because the child born will hold Thai citizenship,
allowing full ownership rights.
All businesses get transferred to the child’s name,
framed as inheritance for the future.
But actually, it’s a long-term strategic scheme.
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These are the overall examples I wanted to highlight,
showing how gray Chinese businesses have crept in
and how deeply they’ve involved Thai people.
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Today, in Huai Khwang, Ratchada, Rama 9, and Yaowarat,
the Thai-Chinese population ratio is practically 50-50.
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If our laws aren’t strong enough to combat these actors,
money power will continue to overpower state authority.
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Some businesses and occupations that should be reserved for Thais
are now overtaken by money power,
with Thai nominees helping behind the scenes.
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With the current capitalist system,
our country stands to lose even more,
and we risk becoming an economic colony forever.
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