Saturday 27 June 2026

Good morning Bangkok. Happy Saturday. Election day is tomorrow.

🌡️ Weather: 28-38°C (82-100°F). Hot and humid with scattered thundershowers from mid-afternoon. Morning is the outdoor window.

🌫️ AQI: 68-118 (Good to Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). At the lower end, decent air. Morning is the best window.

The government is moving to reform the Foreign Business Act, the law that has restricted foreign ownership and participation in Thai businesses for nearly three decades. The reform would change the fundamental framework through which foreign nationals start, own and operate businesses in Thailand. The current FBA, enacted in 1999, requires foreign-majority-owned companies to obtain special licenses for most business categories, a process so complex and restrictive that it gave rise to the nominee structures this newsletter has been covering all year. The proposed changes would open more sectors to foreign participation, reduce licensing barriers and create clearer pathways for legitimate foreign investment.

The timing is deliberate. Thailand has spent the first half of 2026 dismantling nominee networks through enforcement: raids across five provinces, 30,000 foreigners blocked from entry, crime down 60% in three months, and a government adviser calling to "reset Phuket." But enforcement alone does not solve the underlying problem. The reason nominee structures exist is because the FBA made legitimate foreign business ownership so difficult that workarounds became the norm. Reforming the law addresses the root cause rather than just the symptoms. For any expat who has considered starting a business in Thailand and been deterred by the ownership restrictions, or who currently operates through a structure that exists primarily because the FBA forced it, this reform could change the equation entirely.

Bottom Line: This is not a small regulatory update. A reformed Foreign Business Act would be the single most consequential policy change for the expat business community in a generation. Watch for the details as the proposal moves through Cabinet and parliament. The enforcement crackdown told foreign business operators to get compliant. This reform would tell them how.

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TThe Bank of Thailand has closed bank accounts receiving direct Chinese yuan transfers as part of a crackdown on informal financial channels operating outside the country's regulated banking system. The move targets accounts that were facilitating yuan-to-baht transactions without going through proper foreign exchange channels, effectively creating a parallel financial system that bypassed Thai banking regulations, tax reporting and anti-money-laundering controls.

The action connects directly to stories this newsletter has been tracking for months. The Huai Khwang restaurant that refused Thai baht and only accepted yuan and WeChat Pay. The Chinese nominee business networks dismantled across five Bangkok locations. The WeChat land broker arrested in Sri Racha. The three Chinese delivery apps under investigation for nominee shareholding. In each case, the financial infrastructure supporting these operations relied on yuan-denominated transactions that stayed outside the Thai banking system. The BOT's account closures target the banking layer underneath all of those stories. For the broader expat community, the practical impact is limited unless you personally receive yuan transfers. But for the Thai economy, the signal is significant: the grey financial channels that enabled a parallel business ecosystem are being systematically shut down.

Bottom Line: The BOT is not just chasing individual operators. It is closing the financial plumbing that made the grey economy possible. Combined with the nominee enforcement, the "reset Phuket" proposal and now the Foreign Business Act reform, the government is addressing the problem at every level: the businesses, the people, the money and the law. That is not a crackdown. That is a restructuring.

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The owner is Japanese, the kitchen speaks both Japanese and Thai, and the space is a greenhouse-style garden cafe where plants outnumber customers and nobody seems to mind. Iwane Goes Nature sits on Sukhumvit Soi 23 in a setting that feels like someone decided to build a breakfast restaurant inside a botanical garden and then realized the idea was good enough to keep. The ricotta pancakes are the signature: fluffy, generous and the reason most people came in the first place. The menu covers the full brunch range from exotic Thai breakfast plates to scrambled eggs and bacon to Japanese-influenced pastries from the in-house bakery. Specialty coffee and fresh juices round out a morning that the space is clearly designed to make last longer than you planned. "Nice place, comfortable environment, delicious pancakes," one reviewer wrote. "Rapidly became my favorite place for breakfast," wrote another on Tripadvisor. The 4.3-star rating across 938 Google reviews reflects a cafe that has been quietly delivering this experience for years. On a Saturday morning before election day, when the city is calm and the air quality is decent, a greenhouse full of plants and a plate of ricotta pancakes is a good way to start the weekend.

TIP: Go at 8:30AM opening for the quietest table. The pancakes are the first order. The garden seating is the better seat on a cool morning.
Phone: 02 664 0350. Instagram: @iwane.goes.nature. Hours: Daily 8:30AM-10PM. Rating: 4.3 stars, 938 Google reviews. Price: ฿200-400 per person.

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Have an awesome Saturday, and see you tomorrow morning.

— Patrick