OPINION: Do foreigners really own 90% of Phuket's beach front?
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PHUKET: The front page story in today’s Bangkok Post which quotes a leading research body as saying foreigners own 90% of Phuket's beach front land has certainly struck a sour note against foreign ownership of land in Thailand.
The study, which was put together by the Thailand Research Fund, quotes a professor from Sukhothai Thammathirat University who says these holdings are lodged with Thai nominees.
Much of the current controversy stems from the recent reports of foreign parties looking to enter the rice and farming business in the country, with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva telling the media that the Foreign Business Act explicitly forbids this, and that any violations would result in revoked land titles.
It’s disappointing to see such a one-sided story hit page one of the Bangkok Post as it's clearly sensationalist. It appears that no facts or supporting documents have been presented; that there have been no hands-on investigations by Post journalists; and that no effort was made to obtain comments from foreigners with an interest in the Thai property industry. The story takes us back about two years, to the days when the Foreign Business Act plunged the nation's property business into a serious flattening of demand.
