Thai Trust Law: Capital Market Trusts Only

TL;DR

Thailand has no general civil-law trust recognised. The Trust for Transactions in Capital Market Act B.E. 2550 (2007) allows trusts only for capital-market purposes: securitisation trusts, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and infrastructure trusts. Family / dynastic trusts and general asset-protection trusts are not recognised. Foreign trusts holding Thai assets face conversion challenges.

Permitted Capital-Market Trust Uses

• REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust).
• Infrastructure trust (toll roads, railways).
• Securitisation trust (asset-backed securities).
• Specific-purpose vehicles per SEC notifications.

Trustee Eligibility

• SEC-licensed trust company.
• Commercial bank with trust licence.
• Specific entities approved by SEC.

Alternatives for Family Wealth

Foreign Trust Holding Thai Assets

• Thai land cannot be held by foreign trust.
• Thai company shares — trust may be recognised as beneficial owner via foreign-trust documentation; AML / DBD beneficial-ownership disclosure applies.
• Thai bank account — trustee structure case-by-case.

Common Mistakes

• Drafting "Thai family trust" — not recognised.
• Skipping beneficial-ownership disclosure on Thai company shares.
• Tax implications of foreign-trust distributions to Thai-resident beneficiaries.

FAQs

1. Why no general trust law?

Thailand follows civil-law tradition; trusts are an Anglo-common-law construct.

No General Trusts — With One Exception

As a civil-law country, Thailand does not recognise the general private trust: under the Civil and Commercial Code B.E. 2468 (1925), creating a trust to hold or dispose of property is void, so common-law-style family or asset-protection trusts have no effect for Thai-situated assets. The single exception is the Trust for Transactions in Capital Market Act B.E. 2550 (2007), which created a statutory trust that may be used only for capital-market transactions supervised by the SEC — not for private wealth planning.

What the Capital-Market Trust Enables

Within its narrow scope, the Act allows a licensed trustee to hold trust property separate from its own estate for the benefit of investors, which underpins structures such as securitisation, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and certain debt/sukuk issuances. Key features mirror trust fundamentals — segregation of trust assets from the trustee's insolvency, fiduciary duties, and defined beneficiaries — but the settlor, trustee and purpose must fall within the capital-market framework and the trustee must be SEC-approved. For ordinary estate planning, Thais and foreigners instead rely on wills, company structures, usufructs, and beneficiary designations rather than trusts.

2. Can a foreigner use a Thai trust to hold land?

No. There is no general trust to use, and the capital-market trust cannot be used to circumvent the land-ownership restrictions — attempting to hold land for a foreigner through any nominee-style arrangement is unlawful.

Related Reading

• Intestate Succession
• Inheritance & Succession Hub
• Financial & Banking Law Hub